Fatal accident: the defendant explains having felt unwell on the road between Saint-Gilles and Garons

L'homicide involontaire a été jugé au tribunal correctionnel de Nîmes. Midi Libre – MiKAEL ANISSET

The head-on collision cost the life of a 58-year-old woman, after her car was hit by a dump truck between Saint-Gilles and Garons on July 18. The criminal court sentenced the 25-year-old driver to a two-year suspended prison sentence and a ban on re-testing his driving license for 6 months.

A lot of emotions at the Nîmes criminal court this week, when his voice full of tears, the husband of a 58-year-old Gardoise woman, died in a road accident , on July 18, took the floor for a final tribute. " I want to tell you what a beautiful person my wife was. She took care of everyone while battling stage four breast cancer. A fight that she led for four years, worrying more about us than about herself. She had just received her exam results, she had managed to overcome the illness. We were overjoyed. And a few days later, she died in this traffic accident."

A frontal collision which occurred on Tuesday July 18, 2023 around 8 a.m., on departmental road 42, between Saint-Gilles and Garons. That morning, thirteen firefighters and five specialized vehicles were mobilized for nearly three hours. Firefighters were called following a head-on collision between a small dump truck and a car. The driver of the latter died of cardiorespiratory arrest despite being taken care of by emergency services upon their arrival.

Manslaughter

As for the 25-year-old driver of the utility vehicle, he was transported to the Carémeau University Hospital for minor injuries. Nearly eight months after the tragedy, the young man appeared this Tuesday, February 27, at the Nîmes criminal court, for involuntary homicide. 

At the bar, the Gardois explained that he did not understand exactly what had led him, during that disastrous morning, to lose control of his truck and hit it head-on the car traveling in the opposite direction. "I think I was the victim of a malaise." An unconvincing explanation for the civil party: "You have never had vagal discomfort in your life;  you are in perfect health; and the accident occurred in the early morning, when the heat was not yet oppressive. You weren't trying to get your cell phone from the glove compartment, rather ?" 

A phone ringing in the glove box

The investigators had, in fact, revealed during their investigations that the driver had received two SMS messages shortly before the impact, even if no call or use of the telephone was made. #39;was noted. And the civil party to continue: "Your cell phone was stored in the glove box and witnesses say they saw your truck zigzag several times on the road. Elements that would be compatible with the behavior of someone who would look for something and not look at the road."

Arguments refuted by the defense which demonstrates that the lapse of time between the arrival of the messages, the impact and the arrival of help does not make not the scenario of the opposing party possible. The defendant, with a blank look and lowered head, apologizes to the victim's family. "That won't bring her back to us. With his death, we no longer have our life. She will never see her second grandchild born. Everyone will miss her.  

After deliberation, the court sentenced Lucas to two years in prison, suspended for six months, and a fine of 400 euros. ;nbsp;

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