“He was bleeding everywhere and screaming in pain in the ditch”: Anakïn, a 17-year-old cyclist, hit by a driver in Hérault

Anakïn, 17 ans, garde encore des séquelles de son accident après avoir été renversé et laissé pour mort dans un fossé à Colombiers. DR – MIdi Libre

Christophe Barrau, the father of Anakïn, a young cyclist seriously injured by a driver who fled on December 22 in Colombiers, recounts his son's ordeal since the accident. He also talks about his fear for his son's future, his health…

Anakïn Barrau, 17, was seriously injured in a traffic accident while he was riding his bike. The accident took place on December 22 on the road to Colombiers. The driver who hit him and fled is 19 years old. He was sentenced to two years of detention, 18 months of which were suspended. He went to jail for six months. He was driving without a license. The latter had been withdrawn from him a week earlier because he had tested positive for cocaine. The day before the accident, he had consumed cannabis and did not surrender until the day after his escape.

He doesn't remember anything about the accident

Christophe Barrau, father Anakïn recounts his son's life since the accident. “He doesn't remember anything that happened to him. He was in very good health. Today he takes a lot of products to be more or less well. It has psychological and physical after-effects, but also, and it is more serious, neurological. When he was admitted to the Béziers emergency room, he was bleeding everywhere, including from his brain. This is what worries us the most."

Anakïn is in final year, math-physics. He rode for BMC Béziers and was going to join the Elite group. As soon as he could, he would go on the road for miles to maintain his fitness and his passion. If Anakïn remembers nothing from the day of the accident, Christophe, the father, has not forgotten anything of what he saw.

"It’a young man from Nissan called me. He had just found the bike on the side of the road and Anakïn in the ditch. He said to me "Your son has just had an accident, he is in the ditch. We notified the firefighters." I had a colleague accompany me. I couldn't drive." When he arrived there, he discovered the broken bike. A little further on, his son's helmet shattered. Crumbled. And in the ditch Anakïn, screaming in pain.

"He was bleeding everywhere"

"He was bleeding from his mouth, nose, head, side. He was confused in his speech, says a still moved Christophe Barrau. I thought we were going to lose him. The doctors finally reassured me, but a CT scan had to be done quickly to check that none of the vital parts had been affected. We waited what seemed like a very long time for us to be fully reassured. No vital parts were affected and he has no fractures."

Anakin is recovering very slowly from his wounds. He has great difficulty concentrating. He has difficulty moving and has to rest on an armchair as soon as he walks a little. The visible after-effects, a sprained ankle and some hematomas. What remains is what cannot be seen. This is what worries the teenager’s family.

His life plan may be called into question

"He can't concentrate and comes out exhausted from the math classes he's taking to pass his Baccalaureate. He has a very specific plan for the future and this accident, the attitude of this driver, risks calling everything into question, Christophe Barrau still insists. It’s a whole life project that risks being called into question. And then there are these neurological disorders. We have an appointment with a specialist. We are still very worried and we are waiting for the results of all the tests." Christophe Barrau is very angry with the driver. He knows this type of individual, he regularly works with the Béziers Prison Integration and Probation Service (Spip) to carry out road prevention.

"There are no words to say what this young man did to save his skin"

"He has no words to say what this young man did to save his skin. He fled like a coward, without caring who he screwed up. He could have killed him. The day before, he was still smoking weed, he did not surrender because he knew what he had done. He knew very well that he no longer had his license and he was rushing like crazy. The witnesses who helped find him tell it. It’s lamentable! Like the attitude of his family who have not heard from my son. Nothing on that side. It’s shameful." Anakïn benefits from 14 days of ITT. This period could be extended much further.

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