The place where the 16-year-old cyclist died. — © johe
Rotselaar –
Several friends and relatives laid flowers and candles on Wednesday evening at Wezemaal station, where the 16-year-old cyclist from Rotselaar died a day earlier. “Nobody knows what went on in his head. Hadn’t he seen that train? Or was he just absent-minded?”
Family members, friends, but also old schoolmates from Wezemaal and Rotselaar came to the station, the site of the accident, on Wednesday evening. They brought flowers and candles for the 16-year-old boy, which they placed there together.
The boy from Rotselaar was hit by an oncoming train on Tuesday evening around half past eight. Even though the red lights were flashing and the barrier was already down, he still wanted to cross the tracks. But that decision turned out to be fatal for him. The ambulance and MUG went to Wezemaal station, but all help came too late for him.
“It’s terrible what happened here,” sighed one of the relatives. “Apparently he had met here with some friends. But no one knows what happened in his head at the time. Hadn’t he seen that train? Or was he just absent-minded?”
Looking for smartphone
However, the boy from Rotselaar was not someone who liked to take risks, a friend said. “He was certainly not a daredevil. That is why no one really understands what just happened. He was always someone who respected the rules.”
The relatives are still looking for the boy’s smartphone, an iPhone with a blue case. That phone is said to be somewhere near the station, but for now no one knows where. They do hope to find the mobile phone again, because it still contains many valuable photos. The family and friends therefore hope that everyone who passes the station will keep an eye out.
Cyclists’ bridge
A tunnel should be built at the site of the accident by the summer of 2025, under which all road users can pass safely. “That makes it extra bitter,” says Thomas Baeken, spokesperson at Infrabel. “Because it is a level crossing that will disappear in the long term. We can only regret this.”
Work on the level crossing has been on hold for some time now. To such an extent that they have also suffered delays in the meantime. For example, a cyclists and pedestrian bridge should have been in place on Tuesday evening, over which vulnerable road users could pass safely.