An appeal court has upheld the 15-month prison sentence given to the driver of a monster truck that veered out of control during a stunt show, leaving three spectators dead.

Mario D. argued that the original punishment was too harsh because the accident was caused by the accelerator pedal getting stuck rather than any fault of his own. But the appeal court for Arnhem and Leeuwarden found that he had not paid enough attention to the safety rules.

As well as the three fatalities, 28 people were injured at the event in Haaksbergen in 2014 when D. lost control of the truck after driving over a pile of wrecked cars and failed to turn in time.

D. was also banned from driving trucks for five years. The court fined the organisers of the event €25,000 after ruling they had not sufficiently considered the potential risks.