2023-12-29 19:31:01
Twenty years following losing his son, Bart, in a hit-and-run accident, Willy Kerremens, a 69-year-old man from Westrode (Flemish Brabant), was in turn hit by a car. On Wednesday, the Belgian, who was riding his bike, ended up in the grass, unconscious. The driver fled. In addition to a deep head injury, Willy suffered significant emotional shock. “As soon as I filed a complaint, all the memories suddenly came flooding back.”
A few weeks ago, Willy confided to our colleagues at Het Laatste Nieuws that he had finally succeeded, following twenty long years, in making sense of the fatal accident which took his son’s life. A daunting task, considering Bart’s killer was never found. However, the Belgian did not expect his life to be shaken up once more by such an event.
Willy was mountain biking on Wednesday followingnoon in De Biest, Westrode, in the municipality of Meise. The sixty-year-old then came across a black car, just a few hundred meters from his home. “The driver saw me and deliberately drove towards me before hitting me with his rear-view mirror. I then fell to the ground and my head hit a brick wall,” he explains, his voice choked with emotion, to HLN.
The driver continued on his way without looking back. I ended up losing consciousness. He abandoned me to my sad fate.
Unconscious
The accident, which lasted only a fraction of a second, brought back painful memories. Willy caught a glimpse of what his son, Bart, experienced twenty years ago. “The driver continued on his way without looking back. I ended up losing consciousness. He abandoned me to my sad fate.” Sonja, a neighbor, finally saw Willy’s fluorescent jacket. “The neighbors helped me get home. I then went to a doctor, who took care of my deep head wound. He gave me no less than eight stitches.”
All the memories suddenly came flooding back. It’s like I’ve been transported back in time.
Willy did not immediately go to the police, which he later regretted. “I was in shock. I also didn’t have time to look at the car’s license plate,” he confides. “I ended up filing a complaint. All the memories suddenly came flooding back. As if I had been transported back in time, twenty years ago, when the police told me that Bart had been hit by a car. That I was also the victim of a hit-and-run is just unimaginable. I only now realize what happened to me.”
I hope we can find him.
For twenty years, Willy did not give up, tirelessly searching for his son’s murderer, tirelessly seeking answers to his questions. Today, the sixty-year-old no longer feels the need to find them. Another mission drives him: to identify the motorist who abandoned him, alone, lying on the ground. “I hope we can find him. During all these years, I have not stopped shouting loud and clear: ‘If you witness an accident, stop, help people in need’. I have given numerous lectures and interviews on this subject. But, obviously, not all motorists have understood this yet.”
Today I realize it well: a helmet can save lives.
Helmet
Willy’s bike bears almost no trace of the accident. “I ended up on the shoulder, luckily it wasn’t too serious. But I had a big scare. I should have put my helmet on. However, I am a fervent defender of road safety,” he sighs. “I realize today: a helmet can save lives.”
Willy Kerremans © Marc Baert
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