the essential
Five people died in a dramatic accident, during the night from Saturday to Sunday, on a departmental road between Lisle-sur-Tarn and Gaillac, in Tarn. When emergency services arrived, they found four charred victims in a burning vehicle. The fifth was thrown from the car. An investigation has been opened.
A terrible tragedy struck the roads of western Tarn very early this Sunday morning. Around 4:45 a.m., emergency services were called for a road accident on the RD 988, leaving Gaillac, towards Lisle-sur-Tarn. On site, they found a vehicle on fire with four people burned inside. A fifth person, ejected from the car and who was in cardiorespiratory arrest, died immediately. Here is what we know about this terrible accident.
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Five dead in a dramatic road accident in Gaillac in Tarn, the victims charred
A shock of incredible violence against a plane tree
The accident occurred 200 meters from the Piquerouge roundabout, near the parking lot of the L'Ispiens restaurant, at the exit of Gaillac, on a busy departmental road. The vehicle concerned is a rental Renault Captur which came from Lisle-sur-Tarn. After a straight line and approaching a slight curve on the left leading to the roundabout, the car would have hit a first plane tree on its right, before hitting a second. The vehicle was then propelled across the road, hitting another tree. The hypothesis of excessive speed is considered, even if there were no visible signs of braking on the roadway.
A charred vehicle cut in two
DDM – Emilie Cayre.
When emergency services arrived on site, they found a vehicle on fire, with four charred bodies on board. A fifth person, thrown from the car, was in cardiorespiratory arrest. The emergency services tried, without success, to resuscitate this young man in his twenties. The ejected person was 20 meters from the wreckage. On Sunday, late in the morning, we could see debris from the vehicle, embedded in the asphalt, evidence of the violence of the fire. The charred and cut in two vehicle was evacuated around 11:15 a.m.
Who are the victims?
Why did the car catch fire and who were the victims? It's still too early to tell. An investigation was opened to try to determine the identity of the five deceased people, said the Albi prosecutor's office. “The flagrant investigation, carried out on the grounds of involuntary manslaughter by the driver of a vehicle, aims to identify the victims and the circumstances of the accident, an accident which, at present, only seems to involve a only vehicle”, specifies the prosecution. Autopsies will be carried out in the coming days. According to our information, the victims could be four young men from Gaillac and one from Lisle-sur-Tarn.
DDM – Emilie Cayre.
Diversions put in place
David Amalric, elected “security” referent at the municipality of Gaillac, indicated that there was no traffic at that time, neither vehicle nor pedestrian and that the weather conditions were rather good, without fog. Traffic on this axis was cut off all morning. Diversions have been put in place. All services were heavily mobilized: gendarmerie, firefighters, Samu and the Department which therefore immediately diverted a portion of the RD 988. The road was finally reopened around midday.
Black Series
At the end of the year, the Tarn department is experiencing a black streak on the roads. Last month, three people died after a head-on collision near Teyssode. With this terrible tragedy, the number of deaths on the roads of Tarn in 2024 has now reached 27.
