Five years after the accident with the Stint electric cargo cart in Oss (the Netherlands), in which four children died in a collision with a train, two company executives are accused of “marketing and selling a harmful product, which they knew was harmful”. They risk life in prison now that the Dutch court prosecutes them for committing several criminal offenses.

Although the suspects were aware of various defects, insufficient action was taken, and the Stint continued to be used at many childcare centers. The Dutch court also charges the suspects with forgery, which the executives allegedly committed to conceal that the vehicle was dangerous. According to the court, the company had received previous reports that the electric cargo bike could suddenly come to a stop or no longer brake.

Fatal accident

On the morning of September 20th, 2018, the pink Stint approached the railway crossing of Oss West. Although the alarm sounded, the vehicle with several children on board did not slow down and continued under the barrier, colliding with a passing intercity train. Four children didn’t survive the collision; the driver and a fifth child got seriously injured.

What went wrong with the ‘bolderkar’, as the vehicle is called in Dutch, remains a mystery. Until now, the Public Prosecutor did not succeed in finding the cause of the accident with the Stint in Oss. Technical research by the Dutch Forensic Institute didn’t bring any clarity either. The vehicle showed no technical defects.

Not on public roads

After the accident, then-Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen decided to temporarily remove all 3 000 Stints and other innovative means of transport off the Dutch public roads, because they did not meet the requirements of ‘special mopeds’.

However, in 2020, Stintum, the company behind the Stint, designed an almost completely new vehicle that the competent Ministry admitted to public roads in the Netherlands. Since then, the electric cargo bike is particularly popular again at children’s daycare centers.

Several defaults

In the meantime, the investigation has shown that the Stint did not have proper brake construction. A brake switch, start-up protection, and presence detection were missing.

The Public Prosecution Service also indicated that Stint had not completed the so-called ‘CE marking process’, which checks whether a product meets the European Union’s safety, health, and environmental protection requirements.

Stint founder Edwin Renzen, one of the suspected executives, had hoped there would be no criminal prosecution but says he is glad there will finally be clarity about the accident. The three families involved are relieved that the executives and producers of the Stint are still being held accountable. It is not yet clear when the case will go to court.