5 dead, 4 of whom were inside the vehicle still burning when help arrived. The tragedy occurred this Sunday, November 17 shortly before 5 a.m. in Tarn.
Around 4:45 a.m., emergency services were alerted for an accident on the RD 988, near Gaillac, towards Lisle-sur-Tarn. At the scene, they discovered a vehicle on fire, with four occupants burned inside. A fifth person, ejected from the vehicle and in cardiorespiratory arrest, died shortly after. This person, a young man in his twenties, was 20 meters from the wreckage, according to The Dispatch.
Excessive speed?
The accident occurred 200 meters from the Piquerouge roundabout, near the L'Ispiens restaurant, on a busy secondary road. The car involved, a rental Renault Captur coming from Lisle-sur-Tarn, apparently hit a first tree on its right after a straight line and a slight curve, before hitting a second one.
The vehicle then crossed the roadway and ended up hitting another tree. The hypothesis of excessive speed is raised, although no trace of braking was noted.
At the end of the morning, debris from the vehicle remained embedded in the asphalt, testifying to the violence of the accident. The vehicle, reduced to ashes and cut in two, was evacuated around 11:15 a.m.
The exact circumstances still unknown
The exact circumstances of this accident and the identity of the victims remain to be established. According to our colleagues, an investigation into manslaughter has been opened, aimed at identifying the victims and understanding the causes of the accident, which appears to involve only this vehicle.
Autopsies are planned in the coming days. According to certain information, it could be four young men from Gaillac and another from Lisle-sur-Tarn.
David Amalric, elected in charge of security in Gaillac, specified that there was no traffic or pedestrians at the time of the accident and that the weather conditions were favorable. Traffic on this axis was interrupted all morning, and diversions were put in place. Gendarmerie, firefighters, ambulance, as well as departmental services mobilized, and the road finally reopened around noon.
