On Saturday afternoon, 15-year-old Ilke Gommers, together with a comrade, experienced a perilous adventure that they will not soon forget. However, everything started so well. “As she so often does, Ilke wanted to go skating on the ice rink in Haasrode on Saturday afternoon,” says An Vandermosten, Ilke’s mother. “She always takes the scheduled bus from Kampenhout to Leuven station. There, around 2:20 p.m., she and a comrade transferred to line 4 towards the skating rink in Haasrode.”
A connection they know well, because they do it regularly. Until things suddenly went completely wrong. “At a certain point they call, as usual, to step away a little further,” mother An continues. “But the bus, with only the two of them still on it, continued driving.”
After her comrade had spoken to the driver about this, the only response he received was that that stop was no longer served and he simply drove to the depot. Even after the two young people urged them to let them get out – they were still on a normal road – the driver refused to help them. “He simply said that it was not his problem and that he was now driving to the depot,” said mother An. “He then drove onto the highway.”
Panic
Since the pair started to panic, the driver decided to stop at the end of the highway entrance. “He forced them to get out of there,” the mother continues. “Because my daughter did not dare to do this at first, he straightened up and became angry, after which they did it anyway.” They were reportedly immediately greeted with honking horns from passing cars.
“They then found their way down through nettles and bushes,” she continues. “They walked to the skating rink using the GPS in their mobile phone.” In the meantime, the parents were also informed. “I couldn’t believe what I heard,” said mother An, who also immediately filed a complaint with De Lijn. “They completely understood me and advised me to file a complaint, which I immediately did.”
Back by bus
The two teenagers managed to reach the skating rink safely. And even skated. “They didn’t get much use out of it,” admits mother An. “They were talking all the time about what happened to them.” They are not afraid to take a De Lijn bus again. “They even took the bus back home,” she says. “After all, they knew that the driver was no longer working. But they are no longer completely comfortable with it.”
In the meantime, after her complaint, mother An received a message from De Lijn that they would take up the matter with the responsible driver. This is the second time in a short time that a young person from Kampenhout was put in a dangerous situation by a De Lijn driver.
Worrying
In any case, De Lijn is taking the situation very seriously. “We had the team coach of the driver involved contact him,” said Frederick Wittock, spokesperson for De Lijn. “However, it is the day off of the driver in question, and it regularly happens that he does not respond to calls from his employer. But as soon as possible, we will ask the driver for a response, after which we will reassess the situation. But the situation is certainly worrying.”