The Jane
Joe Claridge, the British assistant chef who was hit by celebrity chef Nick Bril in January, woke up from his coma on Wednesday. The editorial staff of Gazet van Antwerpen heard this. The judicial investigation into the accident is still ongoing.
37-year-old assistant chef Joe Claridge was rushed to hospital on Monday morning, January 8, after an accident at star restaurant The Jane. After a long drawn-out New Year’s party, the man was hit twice by chef Nick Bril. He gave a positive breath test, he had 1.67 per mille in the blood.
Since that accident, Claridge has been kept in an artificial coma by doctors at the Antwerp University Hospital (UZA) in Edegem. On Wednesday, 51 days after the accident, the man woke up from his coma. The editorial staff of Gazet van Antwerpen heard this. Claridge is said to be responsible and has not suffered brain damage, although the physical damage remains very extensive.
“Without going into too much detail, the only part of Joe’s body that was not hit in the accident is his head,” Karel Mul, the family’s lawyer, said last week. At the request of the family, the lawyer cannot and will not answer questions about Claridge’s medical condition on Thursday.
Judicial investigation
Claridge’s family filed a civil complaint in early February. Since then, the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office has opened a judicial investigation into the exact circumstances of the accident. This should reveal what happened in the Groen Kwartier on Monday morning before and after the accident.
On the one hand, according to Omar Souidi, Bril’s lawyer, it will have to be determined whether there is a causal link between the collision and the positive alcohol test. Camera images from the scene of the accident show that Claridge – for an unclear reason – was already on the ground before the accident.
On the other hand, it will have to be determined whether Bril actually tried to conceal the collision and whether valuable time was lost as a result. Earlier this month, Het Laatste Nieuws spoke to several witnesses who mentioned this.
