Traffic assault leaves ex‑Belgian international Karel Snoeckx in coma

At the busy intersection of Steenweg op Oosthoven and Hogestraat in Turnhout, 52‑year‑old former Belgian international Karel Snoeckx was left in an artificial coma after a violent confrontation with two pedestrians while travelling in his family’s Tesla. He was rushed to the Turnhout hospital’s intensive‑care unit, where doctors placed him in a medically induced coma.

Lindsy Leppens told Het that the family had just visited the Saturday market and were on their way to the Brasserie Stadspark. She said they stopped on Steenweg op Oosthoven to let two pedestrians cross, when a woman walked diagonally and her husband began to act aggressively.

Leppens recounted that the man struck Karel on the face and pulled him into a chokehold. She added that the attacker hit Karel’s head five times, while the woman repeatedly punched his chest, and her daughter shouted that they were "sjotten" his dad.

Her son‑in‑law, a nurse, intervened and helped remove the attackers. Together, Leppens and her husband performed fifteen minutes of CPR, followed by twenty minutes of resuscitation by MUG emergency responders before Karel was taken to intensive care.

Medical assessment revealed broken ribs and a fractured sternum. Doctors kept him in an artificial coma to stabilise his condition.

Police detained the two pedestrians and placed them in handcuffs immediately after the incident. They are scheduled to appear before the investigative judge in Turnhout on Sunday.

Karel Snoeckx is a former professional footballer who won the Belgian league title with Lierse SK in 1997. He also lifted the Belgian Cup with Germinal Beerschot in 2005 and played for Beveren, Lokeren and Norway’s Valerenga during his career.