The girl that suddenly crossed the road on her bike looked Henk straight in the eyes at the last moment. Then his truck hit her. “That fearful look in her eyes. It haunted me for a long time. That’s why I started searching.”
Manon was 17 years old when she became a victim in a serious traffic accident and lost her foot. Three years after the accident, she met the truck driver who had caused the accident under the guidance of a mediator. “I immediately thought: this man never had bad intentions.”
Two weeks after his 15-year-old daughter was hit by a truck, Francel wanted to get in contact with the driver. “I heard he was on sick leave. I proposed to meet with him, we would both feel better after that.”
On Christmas Eve of 2020, Eva (25) hit a cyclist with her car. The woman on the bike wasn’t paying attention; it wasn’t Eva’s fault. The woman died. The victim’s sister wanted to talk to Eva afterwards, to let her know she was not to blame.
Marco is a truck driver. He causes a serious accident, is which a person dies. After the accident, Marco's life is turned upside down. On the recommendation of his employer, he talks to one of the victims with the guidance of a mediator from Perspectief Herstelbemiddeling.
Mick Smits Hattink lost her husband Jan Smits in a bicycle accident. She told Volkskrant Magazine how she met the guy that hit her husband a year after the accident. “He only cried. I told him I do not blame him.”
Rens (28) was happy that Monique wanted to talk to him eight years after the accident in which she lost her two children. And even though it was the hardest thing he’s ever done, he’s very grateful that the conversation took place. “I wanted to do something good for Monique and Ludo so badly.”
Three teenagers from the same village get into a traffic accident after a night out. The driver survives, but his passengers, a brother and sister, do not. What now? Mother Monique: “Thanks to the mediator we can look back at an open and honest conversation.”
It’s a dark and rainy morning when Sharon (then 16 years old) is hit by a van on her scooter. The accident and the period after are one big black hole. Over a year later, she feels ready to talk with the causer of the accident through Perspectief.
Anneke (63) got in contact with the co-causer of the accident, and said: “Please move on with your life, make something good of it.”
