The violence of the frontal collision between the Suzuki Swift and the heavy goods vehicle was fatal to the driver. The 25-year-old young woman was traveling in the south – north direction on the RN 88, this Tuesday, December 31 at 11:40 a.m. In the last bend before arriving at Pradelles, at the entrance to the rest area , above the campsite swimming pool, the car completely crossed the road. The driver of the truck, which was traveling in the opposite direction and carrying wood chips, did not have time to do anything to avoid the collision. The Suzuki Swift hit him head-on. The strong kinetics sent the car back around thirty meters.
“I had the impression that she wanted to enter the rest area,” says the driver, 36, who was not injured. “It happened in less than a second. I was only able to hold on to the steering wheel.”
Motorists quickly stopped to help the young woman. “I heard them say she didn’t have a pulse.” When the firefighters arrived, a civilian doctor was with her. The rescuers carried out an emergency release and began resuscitation before being joined by the Samu 43 medical team. Despite all the efforts made, the young woman was pronounced dead at 12:30 p.m. by the Samu doctor.
The gendarmerie has opened an investigation to understand the reasons for this accident. At this stage, no hypothesis has been ruled out: the driver's discomfort, intentional action or even mechanical failure. The 25-year-old young woman lived in the Jura department. The car was seized for the purposes of the investigation. The truck driver's alcohol and drug tests came back negative.
Some 25 rescuers including Lozère firefighters were involved in this intervention. The mayor of Pradelles, Alain Robert, went to the scene of the tragedy to once again deplore “the dangerousness of the RN 88”. A diversion was set up at the entrance to Pradelles to direct traffic on the RN 102. Traffic on the RN 88 was cut until the car was evacuated and alternated while waiting for the truck to be repaired. .
