Émilie and Lucil spent an “apocalyptic” night in the region of Montbéliard (Doubs), stuck in their car between trucks immobilized by snow on the A36 motorway, on the night of November 21 to 22. Serge was at the wheel of his truck.
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Émilie de Ronchi has not yet been able to sleep since her night spent in her 208 Peugeot. The young 23-year-old osteopath is stunned. Having left her grandparents' house shortly before 8 p.m., she only arrived at her home in Pont-de-Roide at 10 a.m. this morning. 10:30 a.m. to make a journey that should have only taken 20 minutes.
Cars and trucks trapped on the A36, during the night of Thursday 21 to Friday 22 November 2024.
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© Emilie DeRondi
Alone in her car, with just a blanket and a survival blanket, Émilie had enough gasoline to keep the engine running. Outside, it was snowing in large flakes until two in the morning. “I called my parents and grandparents on the phone to help me hold on.”
It was also a great feeling of loneliness that Lucil Caberlon, 26 years old, experienced. The young woman found herself stuck in the same traffic jam on the A36 between Voujeaucourt and Pont de Roide. Having left Belfort at 5 p.m., she found herself immobilized an hour later at Pont de Roide.
Around 6:15 p.m., it froze and we didn't move until 4 a.m.
Lucil Caberlon, motorist stopped on the A36
The two young women confirm it: the live interventions of Autoroute info 107.7 were not of much help. “They didn't have too much information, it was a bit complicated. Around half past midnight, a representative of the Doubs prefecture indicated on their microphone that the Red Cross was going to come with blankets and coffee, but I did not see them where I was” deplores Émilie. “You have to imagineadds Lucil. It's dark, it's cold, you're hungry, it was quite apocalyptic, we were left to our own devices”.
The A36 victims sometimes stayed in their car for up to 8 hours.
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© Lucil Cln
“We were alone until the snowplows arrived” deplores Lucil. Having left the Saint-Maurice tollbooth, the tow trucks went up the highway to clear the road for trucks. “It took hours, they made a way for us between the trucks, we passed as if we were in the middle of the mountains”. Émilie did not see the glow of the snowplow headlights.
At 2 o'clock, I realized I was going to sleep in my car.
Emilie de Rondi, motorist stopped on the A36
The young woman will ultimately not find sleep. “It’s clearly not the experience you want to have alone”. When day breaks, a small group of castaways will stick together. “We decided between us to take the emergency lane”. They clearly couldn't take it anymore. “The car in front of me was able to make its way between the trucks, I followed” describes Émilie, still very moved. “We know the risks we took, but we couldn't take it anymore” specifies the young woman. With around six other cars, Émilie found herself stuck 800 meters before the Pont de Roide exit. Agents from the APRR motorway company were finally able to clear their way.
Cars completely stopped on the A36.
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© Emilie DeRondi
When they got into their car late in the afternoon or early evening, Émilie and Lucil would have liked to have been informed of the risks of being immobilized on the A36 motorway. If he had known, truck driver Serge Fichet would not have entered the highway either.
Like every morning around 2 a.m., the driver takes his service in Chemaudin, near Besançon. With his 44-ton semi-trailer, he usually unloads his cargo of office supplies in Strasbourg around 6 a.m. “As I knew the conditions were bad, I got a little head start” explains the Rave group driver. There he is on the motorway taking the A36 Chemaudin entrance, no warning to warn him of the difficult traffic conditions.
It was only 20 km further, in Marchaux, that the gendarmes asked us to park on the emergency lane 2 km from the gas station. Usually, they are at the Chemaudin toll.
Serge Fichet, heavy goods vehicle driver
The absence of information also marked Serge Fichet. “Around 2:30 a.m., I heard on the highway radio that heavy goods vehicles could not travel until 10 a.m.. Too late for the trucker who just has to be patient. “I was listening to the radio, says Serge FichetI looked at the signs with variable messages, but there was no information if we could ride again”. Disappointed, the driver will end up leaving of his own free will. “I followed the movement” he says. Serge Fichet will end up delivering his cargo around 4 p.m., ten hours late.
