Belgium: Romanian trucker killed by manhole cover thrown from bridge

Five young men will appear before a Belgian judge on Tuesday as part of a “murder” investigation opened after a manhole cover was thrown from a motorway bridge that claimed the life of a Romanian trucker, Namur’s public prosecutor’s office (centre) said on Monday. )

The events took place on the E42 highway between Liège and Namur during the night from Friday to Saturday. Five youths, operating from a bridge crossing the highway near Heron, are suspected to have thrown a manhole cover hanging from a strap into a void.

The plate pierced the windshield of a truck, instantly killing its driver, a Romanian man. The driver’s partner, who was in the cabin with him, stopped the heavy goods vehicle which had not left the road.

Of the five suspects, two are minors and three are “juveniles”.

According to local media, the youth used nitrous oxide capsules, nicknamed “laughing gas” for its psychoactive effects. The Namur Public Prosecutor’s Office is reported to have declined to comment on Monday evening.

“Interviews of the suspects (by the police) are underway and then there will be various investigative duties ordered by the judge,” announced the prosecutor’s spokesman, contacted by AFP.

Of the five suspects arrested on Sunday, two were minors and three were “juveniles”, he said. All come from the town of Andene, not far from Heron, where the events took place. They will appear before a trial judge (for the adults) and a youth judge (for the other two) on Tuesday, who will decide on custody.

The Romanian driver worked for the Spanish carrier Castillo Trans.