A driver who knocked down two delegates of the Catholic union CSC on Monday during a strike in the Plénesses Industrial Area in Thimister-Clermont was apprehended and released by Liège authorities.
The incident occurred around 8:15 a.m. near one of the barriers set up by union members in the area. “A driver in a pick-up truck towing a trailer forced his way through the barrier and hit two people,” CSC's Jean-Marc Namotte reported.
Emergency services were quickly alerted, and the injured delegates were taken by ambulance to a hospital in the Verviers region.
The driver, found through his licence plate, was questioned by authorities in the afternoon.
“The driver, a man in his fifties with no prior police or judicial record, took advantage of a barrier being moved to allow two vehicles to exit and forced his way through," the Liège Prosecutor’s Office said in a press release. "His side mirror and trailer hit one striker, causing him to fall on a colleague who then sprained her knee. The striker fell to the ground, hitting his head."
The first victim sustained several broken ribs and a pneumothorax. The driver claims he drove “as cautiously as possible given the crowd around his vehicle” and did not realise he had hit anyone, added the prosecutor’s office.
The driver was released after questioning.
The investigation is ongoing.
