Distracted by her phone on the RN13, she causes an accident with dramatic consequences

The case was processed in November 2024.

Reminder of the facts: the October 20, 2020shortly before 8 p.m., on the RN 13 near Saint-Joseph, in the direction Cherbourg-Valognes (Manche), a car driven by a young woman, 26 years old at the time, who came home from workEast collision In a broken down car, off on its traffic lane.

A dramatic accident

The driver, distracted by her phone, had taken her eyes off the road for barely a moment, just a flash of time enough to cause a dramatic accident.

Dramatic, because in the hit car, a little 4-year-old boy, who was in the back, was going to suffer very serious injuries.

To the point that, in danger of deathhe was going to be rushed at Caen University Hospital by helicopter so that he can be saved.

On the other hand, the mother of the child who was at the wheel of the hit car, and her passengers, a friend in the front and a little girl in the back, escaped almost unscathed.

The child marked for life

The child was suffering from cranial injuryof fractures and various injuries, with, as a result, significant neurological disordersproblems with understanding and concentration.

He knew 10 months of hospitalization. He suffered multiple surgeriesfor the face, plates on the jaws.

Four years later, everyday life is difficult for him: appetite and sleep are affected and it is marked by a school disability. He has a caregiver constantly with him, but his integration is impossible in class. He needs suitable education. His condition is not consolidated.

The car that was going to be hit had shown signs of weakness 5 kilometers before the accident and was losing oil.

As it climbed towards Saint-Joseph, the vehicle began to lose power and speed and ended up stopping in the middle of the road. Panic.

The broken down car on the road

A motorist got out of his car to give help to the driver, with the aim of putting the car on the side of the road, clearing the traffic lane and secure the premises. But time ran out. In the arriving car, the driver, distracted for a moment, did not realize in time that the car in front of her was stationary.

The woman had acquired for 4,000 euros on credit this car from a garage in Rouen. She had already redeposited it twice to have spotted problems.

His car was in the garage when she came to look for her to go to the Cotentin. The vehicle had been reviewed, but it had not passed at technical inspection. She insisted on the urgency to recover it despite the advice of the mechanic.

Three years suspended

The young driver always admitted that she had a moment of inattention. She was sentenced to 3 years suspended prison sentence. She has responsibility of the accident.

More his lawyer had pointed out that the woman driving the broken down car had not known anticipate the risk. As for the garage, which had warned the driver, it could not have any responsibility in the accident. He was relaxed for the purpose of endangering others.

The child victim of the accident and his mother will each receive from the young woman 2,500 euros for legal costsbut no request from (numerous) civil parties has been quantified. Impossible for the court to rule.

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