Dutch footballer involved in fatal car crash
Rick van Drongelen has been loaned to Mechelen from Union Berlin
Source: dpa/dpa/Andreas Gora
Rick van Drongelen was involved in a fatal car accident on his way to training. The defender, on loan to KV Mechelen from 1. FC Union Berlin, escaped with minor injuries.
DDutch professional footballer Rick van Drongelen was involved in a fatal car accident on his way to training. The defender, on loan from 1. FC Union Berlin to Belgian Premier League club KV Mechelen, was injured and taken to hospital after Wednesday morning’s crash, his club said. The driver of the other vehicle was killed.
“We would like to express our condolences to the family of the victim,” KV sporting director Tom Caluwé said, according to the announcement. According to Dutch media, the accident happened around 7:40 a.m. Wednesday morning on the Langeweg on the federal road N258 near Axel. Two cars would have collided. The driver of the Opel, an 18-year-old man from the town of Hulst, died.
The driver of the other car: Rick van Drongelen. The defender was on his way to training. It’s about 75 kilometers from his home town of Axel in the province of Zeeland to the training ground in Mechelen.
Van Drongelen slightly injured
Van Drongelen was taken to hospital. The former HSV professional reportedly suffered only minor injuries. “Rick was taken to hospital. His injuries don’t seem too serious at first glance, but further medical examinations should shed some light on this,” Mechelen sporting director Tom Caluwé said.
Van Drongelen, 23, is on loan at Mechelen until the end of the season. He played for Hamburger SV from 2017 to 2021, then joined Union Berlin. He was only a substitute for the Köpenickers and did not play a competitive match for the capital club until the winter break. That’s why the Berliners loaned him to Belgium. He is a regular for Mechelen and has made ten appearances for the club since his arrival.