“One of the vehicles apparently hit two other vehicles traveling in the opposite direction”: what we know about the RN20 accident

The start of 2025 was marked by a series of road accidents in Haute Ariège. After the spectacular accident at the Chioula pass, it was the RN20 which was the scene of a violent head-on collision this Thursday, January 2, around 10:30 a.m., near the exit of the villages of Aulos and Les Cabins.

This accident, involving three vehicles carrying ten passengers, caused seven injuries. All were taken care of and transported by road to the Center Hospitalier Intercommunal des Vallées de l'Ariège (CHIVA), among which four victims were, at the time of their transfer, in a state of absolute emergency.

A car shifted to the left lane”

If the exact causes of the accident remain to be determined, the first findings suggest “a trip off the road”, as Marc Vialelle, major of the Foix departmental road safety squadron, explains: “One of the vehicles, which was traveling in a south-north direction and carrying three passengers, apparently collided with two other vehicles traveling in the opposite direction. An investigation is underway to determine why the driver lost control of his vehicle. . can imagine everything: drowsiness, use of the telephone, discomfort The investigation will tell.”

In the end, out of ten passengers, the human toll showed four injured in absolute emergency, three in relative emergency, and three people unhurt. Among the injured were families with children, some of whom were among the injured. The victims came, some of them, from Tarn-et-Garonne and the Hautes-Pyrénées.

34 firefighters mobilized

An important device has been deployed. “34 firefighters and more than ten vehicles were dispatched to the scene of the accident”, underlines the fire commander Benoît Delpas: “We also installed a so-called “rapid” tent of 15 m², which served here as a transitional airlock for victims.”

Among the people mobilized on site, the DIRSO, the SAMU, but also Delphine Lemaire, sub-prefect and chief of staff of the prefect of Ariège, who wanted to thank the speakers: “I thank the police, the gendarmerie, the firefighters and the DIRSO for the system put in place. There is a prefectural permanence in place day and night, every day of the year, and that is why I am. present.”

She also recalled the priorities in terms of road safety: “Road safety remains a priority for the prefect of Ariège. Unfortunately, the year 2024 was marked by a higher number of deaths compared to 2023. On this portion of the diversion, we are trying to have a fleet of operational radars that can be moved regularly, in particular to deter speeding. We do not yet know the causes of today's accident; the investigation will make it possible to determine them. But of the accidents we experienced last year, the causes were mainly linked to distractors, driving under drugs or alcohol, or excessive speed.