“It’s a tragedy for our town”: Aiguillon in shock after the dramatic road accident

A dramatic road accident occurred this Saturday, November 23 in Aiguillon, a little after 6 p.m., on the RD 642 near the place called Miailles. For a reason still unknown, a 27-year-old young man lost control of his vehicle, hit a concrete electrical pole then a wooden telephone pole, before rolling over and ending up in a power switch station. gas.

A shock of great violence

The impact, which took place shortly before the railway bridge, caused a gas leak and the vehicle burst into flames. It happened just a few hundred meters from his home.

For almost three hours, the blaze consumed the car, which was on its roof. A fire of incredible violence, with flames reaching up to 10 meters high, according to the Lot-et-Garonne prefecture. The intensity of the fire prevented firefighters from carrying out their intervention. The latter, numbering 18 in the area, had to wait for the gas company, Teraga, to cut off the gas.

Around 11 p.m., the firefighters had finished putting out the fire, leaving the carcass of the car completely charred to the gendarmes, who began their observations. All night and all day Sunday, the soldiers occupied the area of ​​the tragedy for the sake of the investigation, cutting the road and setting up a diversion.

The victim of the accident, a mechanic and father, remained in the vehicle and did not survive. Witnesses reportedly saw him unconscious in the passenger compartment just before the fire broke out. No official source has announced his death for the moment, but a message on Facebook from his partner leaves little room for doubt (read opposite).

“He leaves behind a wife and a baby”

The young man's name is Luis Miguel Castro Almeida. Of Portuguese origin, he is married and the father of a two-year-old boy. A mechanic in Port-Sainte-Marie, he had recently moved his business to Aiguillon, where he lived with his family.

Christian Girardi, the mayor of Aiguillon, expressed “his deep sadness” at this tragedy. “It’s a tragedy for our community. He leaves behind a wife and a baby. », Confides the councilor in shock, who immediately went to the scene after being warned by one of his deputies. The chief magistrate spent his Sunday answering calls from his constituents who wonder what happened. But also to inform the people of Aiguilon about the return to service of the gas network, which had to be cut off following the accident.

“I had to go urgently to the rugby stadium. There is a pre-match dinner and they didn’t have gas to prepare the meal,” explains Christian Girardi. As a safety measure, “the gas supply to the town of Aiguillon has, in fact, been interrupted,” explains the Lot-et-Garonne prefecture in a press release. All day, GRDF had to restore gas to each impacted home one by one. A very long operation which required the mobilization of many agents from the gas company. “Whether it was Terega or GRDF, they were very responsive and very efficient,” declared the mayor. I want to thank them. »

This is the 22nd fatal accident on the roads of Lot-et-Garonne in 2024.