A 55-year-old man died following an accident, in Montilly-sur-Noireau (Orne), this Monday, November 25, 2024. He was allegedly hit by his own car around 7:15 p.m., rue Claude-Monet . According to our information, it is Jérôme Mercier. The former deputy and general commissioner of the town's fair was going to the multipurpose room to attend an association meeting, when the tragedy occurred.
“Everything happened very quickly”
“It was during a meeting of the Montilly Loisirs Évasion association, describes Antoine Gérard, the mayor. He was arriving to join the meeting place. He probably either put the handbrake on incorrectly, or there was a problem. It is not yet clear whether he tried to stop his own car or was hit. Everything happened very quickly. »
Initially, the meeting participants observed the Renault Clio rolling down the slope, without seeing that a person was stuck underneath. “ We started the meeting at 7 p.m. Fifteen minutes later, we heard a very loud crash. Some rescue volunteers got out to try to lift the car. This drama caused fear at a meeting which was supposed to be festive », recalls Hervé Quettier, president of the Montilly Loisirs Evasion association.
“He was probably hit by his car in the parking lot of the village hall, reports Commander Romain Soulary, of the Domfront-en-Poiraie gendarmerie company. The hypothesis is that the driver would have wanted to hold his vehicle. »
The third accident of this type in the Bocage since 2023
Eleven firefighters from the Condé-en-Normandie (Calvados) and Flers emergency centers were mobilized. When they arrived, the victim was in cardiorespiratory arrest. The cardiac massage provided did not resuscitate him. Those present at the meeting came out after hearing the sound of the crash but could do nothing.
Last year in the Bocage, similar accidents occurred, notably in Tinchebray-Bocage where the mayor of Saint-Jean-des-Bois, Jean-Louis Renault, was hit on November 27, 2023 by a driverless vehicle which was rolling down a slope. A postwoman was also the victim of her own car in Champsecret, on September 11, 2023.
