5 killed as car plows into parade in Netherlands

A Dutch driver careened through police barriers and plowed into a crowd of people cheering their popular queen Thursday, in an allegedly premeditated assault on the royal family that killed five bystanders and injured 12, authorities said.

Some of those struck were thrown into the air. The speeding car came within a few yards of the open-top bus carrying Queen Beatrix and her family down a parade route, then smashed into a stone monument. The bus was not hit and no one in the queen’s entourage was injured.

Prosecutors said the driver, badly injured and still in his crumpled car, acknowledged targeting the queen and her family.

“The man said that his action was aimed at the royal family,” said prosecutor Ludo Goossens.

The driver, whose name was not released, “is formally suspected of . . . an attack on members of the royal house and manslaughter or murder,” Goossens said, and could face life in prison.

The motive for the attack was unclear. Dutch media, citing neighbors, said the assailant recently was fired from his job and was to be evicted from his home. Police identified him as a 38-year-old man with no history of mental illness or a police record; they would not release his name.

Officials in Apeldoorn said the driver had a map of the queen’s route.

Celebrations were canceled for Queen’s Day, the national holiday that was to draw millions of people to street dances, picnics and outdoor parties under sunny skies around the country. Flags were lowered to half-staff. The Dutch Embassy in Washington canceled a reception.

A shaken Beatrix extended her sympathies to the victims in a brief, nationally televised address. “What began as a great day has ended in a terrible tragedy that has shocked us all deeply,” she said.

The driver apparently acted alone and was not linked to any terrorist or ideological group. No explosives were found in his car or in his home, Goossens said.