The 12-year-old boy from north London died and five members of his family were rushed to hospital after a BMW X5 with a British number plate overturned onto its roof on the E40 motorway in Belgium
A British schoolboy has died in a horror car crash that left five members of his family in hospital.
The 12-year-old boy, who attended Menorah Grammar School in Edgware, north London, was killed in the accident on the E40 motorway in West Flanders, Belgium. The incident at around 1am on Thursday saw the car, a BMW X5 with UK number plate, flip onto its roof after skidding out of control.
The boy’s parents and his three siblings all suffered non-life threatening injuries and are recieving treatment in hospital, according to local media. The boy’s tragic death came just days before he was due to celebrate his bar mitzvah with his twin brother.
A letter from the headteacher to the school community confirmed the pupil had died in the incident, while his sister in Year 3 and her parents are “safe”, according to the Jewish Chronicle. The letter asked parents to reassure their children that “strong emotions of anger, upset and tears” are “normal” after losing a friend, adding: “Please stress to your child that it is very rare for children to die in a car accident.”
Haim Weingarten, from the Jerusalem-based ZAKA international disaster response team, described the accident as “devastating and painful event” and said the boy had recently had his tefillin ceremony in Israel, an important milestone in the Jewish faith. Belgian police reportedly found out about the crash because of the BMW’s automatic emergency alert system. Investigators believe the vehicle may have aquaplaned on the road.
A statement from the prosecutor’s office said: “The first findings show that the poor weather conditions and aquaplaning on the road, in combination with an unadjusted speed, may be the causes of the accident. No other vehicles were involved in the accident. The investigation is continuing.”
The family was reportedly returning from Antwerp when the accident took place on the motorway near the city of Veurne. The exit road was closed for several hours following as authorities cleared the scene.
A statement from local police said: “There were a total of six occupants in the car. One of them, a 12-year-old boy with British nationality, was thrown out of the vehicle and died of his injuries.”
