Dramatic accident in Toulouse: a retiree going the wrong way hits a young motorist, two deaths on the A68

Le drame a fait deux morts. ILLUSTRATION MAXPPP – Mourad ALLILI

On Saturday March 9, 2024, the collision of two vehicles on the A68 motorway near Toulouse resulted in the death of a 23-year-old young man and a septuagenarian. At the origin of the tragedy, a retiree who had taken the Albi-Toulouse route in the wrong direction.

The terrible accident took place early in the evening. Around 7:45 p.m. on March 9, a car going the wrong way collided with a vehicle on the A68, in Haute-Garonne. The tragedy left two dead, reports La Dépêche.

Two deaths

The results show two deaths, our colleagues report. The tragedy occurred in the early evening, shortly after a retiree took the Albi-Toulouse route in the wrong direction. 

Facing the septuagenarian, a young motorist aged 23 years old who was traveling in the overtaking lane. The shock occurred near the small town of Castelmaurou. The two drivers died instantly, during a particularly violent impact. 

An open investigation

Three other cars were hit in the accident, but the three people they were carrying were fortunately not injured.

The departmental road safety squadron (EDSR) was tasked with carrying out investigations to understand how such a tragedy could have occurred. In particular, they seek to determine whether the retiree in the wrong direction made a U-turn on the expressway or whether he mistakenly took the opposite lane to the one he was supposed to take. . 

A little before the tragedy, several motorists reported the presence of the septuagenarian's vehicle on the edge of the town of Saint-Jean, three kilometers from the scene of the collision.