APELDOORN, Netherlands — A Dutch driver careened through police barriers and plowed into a crowd of merrymakers cheering their popular queen on Thursday, in a premeditated assault on the royal family that killed five bystanders and injured 12, authorities said.
The speeding car, already dented apparently from catapulting bystanders into the air, passed within a few yards of the open-topped bus carrying Queen Beatrix and her family down a parade route, then smashed into a stone monument.
“I think that it has become clear that this happened with premeditation,” Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said.
The driver, who was badly injured, acknowledged targeting the queen and her family, said prosecutor Ludo Goossens, and he 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 Dutch man with no history of mental illness or a police record, but they would not name him.
He apparently acted alone and was not linked to any terrorist or ideological group. No explosives were found in his car or home, Goossens said.
Celebrations were canceled for Queen’s Day, a national holiday that was expected to draw millions to street dances, picnics and outdoor parties around the country. A shaken Queen Beatrix extended her sympathies to the victims in a brief televised address. “What began as a great day has ended in a terrible tragedy that has shocked us all deeply,” she said.
