Two men are being questioned about Saturday’s car chase and double accident near the French border, in which two young children were killed, according to the Walloon press.
The children, aged 8 and 4, were seated in the back of their stepfather’s Opel when they were killed in a road accident in Mouscron as a result of a car chase.
"There was a first accident involving the two drivers, followed by an altercation in a large parking lot in Dottignies, a subdivision of Mouscron," said Julie Baiwy of the Mons public prosecutor's office.
According to reports, the stepfather tried to exchange information with the other driver. However, it has been alleged his insurance forms may not have been in order.
The man, who was said to be driving a car with a French number plate, fled the scene, after which the stepfather of the children started a pursuit, the Mons prosecutor's office said.
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During the chase, the stepfather tried to overtake the other driver, who jerked his steering wheel, forcing the stepfather to swerve out and lose control of his steering wheel.
His car hit a lamppost at high speed, instantly killing the two young children in the backseat, according to reports from several Belgian media outlets.
The driver of the second vehicle fled the scene again, initiating a search by Belgian and French police.
The children's stepfather was taken to a hospital in Kortrijk with serious injuries, however his condition is no longer life-threatening, according to the prosecutor.
The French police reportedly arrested a suspect in Tourcoing on Sunday evening, and another man turned himself in at the police station.
An investigation has been opened into deliberate obstruction of traffic, manslaughter and the commission of a crime of escape, the public prosecutor's office reported.
Lauren Walker
The Brussels Times
