FILE - The July 30, 2014 file photo shows Junior Malanda of German soccer Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg posing during the official photo opp of the club in Wolfsburg, northern Germany. Wolfsburg midfielder and Belgium youth international Junior Malanda was killed in a car crash on Saturday, Jan 10, 2015 Wolfsburg police said. (AP Photo/dpa, Peter Steffen)
The Associated Press
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - Police say Wolfsburg midfielder Junior Malanda was not wearing a seat belt when he was thrown from a speeding car and killed as it crashed in heavy rain.
Malanda was a back-seat passenger when the driver of the SUV lost control and the vehicle skidded off a slippery highway on Saturday and overturned several times. Malanda, a 20-year-old Belgium youth international, was pronounced dead on the spot.
Bielefeld police said Monday the vehicle was traveling "at a speed unsuitable for the weather conditions" and that they have opened a manslaughter probe.
Both other people in the car were injured, but have been released from the hospital, according to police.
Anderlecht youth team defender Anthony D'Alberto was one of the other two people in the car.
The photo provided by police shows a white Volkswagen Touareg after a car crash on the Autobahn A2 near Porta Westfalica, central Germany, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015. Wolfsburg midfielder and Belgium youth international Junior Malanda was killed in the car crash on Saturday, Wolfsburg police said. (AP Photo/dpa, Polizei Bielefeld) MANDATORY CREDIT
The Associated Press
Flowers, and candles are placed at the Volkswagen Arena stadium in Wolfsburg, Germany to remember Wolfsburg's soccer player Junior Malanda. Sunday Jan. 11, 2015. Wolfsburg midfielder and Belgium youth international Junior Malanda was killed in a car crash on Saturday, Jan 10, 2015 Wolfsburg police said. (AP Photo/dpa, Peter Steffen)
The Associated Press