Oudenaarde councillor Mathieu Mas killed a 22-year-old cyclist in a car accident on Wednesday. Mas was driving over the speed limit and under the influence of alcohol.
The accident happened at 23:19 on Rue d'Alost in Brussels City Centre, a zone with a maximum speed limit of 50 kilometres per hour. Mas may have been on his way home when the cyclist emerged from a road on the right, crossing the street 300 metres from his house.
The car hit the cyclist and dragged him for 35 metres, and only stopped 70 meters after the point of impact. Emergency services arrived quickly, but the young man died at the scene.
The councillor was arrested and found to be intoxicated, and according to Het Nieuwsblad, the Public Prosecutor's Office claimed that he was driving over the speed limit. Mas was released under conditions after being questioned.
"He remains suspected of unintentional homicide, driving under the influence and improper speed. His driving license was revoked for 15 days," said the East Flanders public prosecutor's office spokeswoman told De Standaard.
Mas had just founded a new party, Everybody 9700!, last week in a bid for election as mayor in 2024, but people close to him told De Standaard that his political career is over, despite the fact that they believe that he normally "is certainly not a drinker, night owl or hard driver." The parents of the victim laid flowers at the scene of the accident Thursday morning.
According to the European Transport Safety Council, Mas' driving while intoxicated is not an isolated instance. Among other EU countries, Belgium has a bad reputation in regards to drunk driving. A 2018 survey reported that 33% of Belgian drivers admitted to driving under the influence at least once in the previous 30 days, ranking third highest in Europe after Portugal and Switzerland.
"Belgium, and other European countries, need to recognise that drink-driving is still a major problem and more action needs to be taken on enforcement, and changing attitudes," the council posted on social media.
