a teenager dies in Strasbourg, hit by a fleeing vehicle

The driver of the vehicle fled. “I send my condolences to the loved ones of the young man who died in the night,” responded the mayor of Strasbourg.

A 15-year-old teenager died on New Year's Eve in Strasbourg after being hit by a car which fled, franceinfo learned on Wednesday January 1, from police sources. The accident took place in the Cité de l'Ill district, the prefecture told AFP. This is a sensitive district in the north of Strasbourg. The driver of the vehicle fled.

“I send my condolences to the loved ones of the young man who died in the night. All light must be shed on the circumstances of this tragedy, and everything possible must be done to find its perpetrator”Strasbourg Mayor Jeanne Barseghian was quoted as saying in a statement.

“The unrest that persists every New Year’s Eve continues to challenge us”continued the city councilor. “Despite preventive measures (…) some continue to sow trouble, in particular by setting fire to vehicles, or by confronting the police and firefighters. This violence is unacceptable”she added. Moreover, “the results from last night show a stable total number of incidents compared to last year”it is specified in the press release.

Last year, New Year's Eve was marked by a “sharp reduction in urban violence” in Bas-Rhin, the prefecture indicated, with a drop of a third in vehicles burned compared to the previous year. Twenty-eight people were arrested, including 14 minors.

But this year, as the New Year approaches, incidents have been recorded in several sensitive areas of Strasbourg. Nearly 700 police officers were engaged, during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, in Strasbourg and its agglomeration as well as 500 gendarmes in the rest of Bas-Rhin, indicated the prefect of this department, Jacques Witkowski, during a press point Tuesday. “Around forty arrests” took place following damage to vehicles, trash fires but also urban violence, the prefect recalled.