a fatal accident and around forty material accidents in Côte-d'Or

While 22 departments are still placed on orange “ice snow” vigilance on Saturday evening, the situation is particularly difficult in Côte-d'Or where a 20-year-old man lost his life on the road due to weather conditions.

“We have had around forty material accidents, and unfortunately one fatal accident to deplore in the Merceuil sector, on the A6 motorway”declared Amelle Ghayou-Migeon, sub-prefect of Côte-d'Or, on franceinfo Saturday January 4. Côte-d'Or is one of the departments placed on orange alert by Météo France for a risk of “snow-ice” on Saturday evening.

The accident which occurred on the A6 motorway south of Beaune involved “three vehicles and unfortunately, in one of the vehicles, a person died”indicated Amelle Ghayou-Migeon. “According to the first information we have, it is linked to the weather conditions”. According to information from France Bleu Bourgogne, the accident took place around 6:15 p.m. at the Merceuil rest area, uA 20-year-old man died and five other people involved were slightly injured.

A few hours earlier, on franceinfo, Gendarme Nicolas Rosalie, commander of the Côte-d'Or departmental road safety squadron, invited “all those who can do so, not to take their vehicle until tomorrow morning”.

“Traffic conditions throughout the department are difficult”particularly on the A38 motorway, due to its “hilly aspect which further disrupts the situation”. Accidents also took place on the A6, in the Beaune sector and on the A31, north of Dijon, indicates Lieutenant-Colonel Nicolas Rosalie. “Forty soldiers are currently outside to intervene on the entire motorway network”but also “in municipalities and secondary networks”where the situation is also “complicated”.

“Despite the alerts broadcast at national and local level, there is significant traffic in this department, which is heavily trafficked” and with the “end of school holidays”he regrets. “The ideal for those who can still do so is to postpone their departure to avoid finding themselves in difficult situations or even causing accidents”.

According to Météo France, on Saturday evening, at 10 p.m., 22 departments were still affected by an orange “snow-ice” vigilance. This disturbance, punctuated by snow and freezing rain, is expected to last all Saturday evening and part of the night in the north and east of the country. It is the result of the meeting between a “soft air mass” which sweeps the whole country and which meets “a mass of cold air over the north of the country”explains Météo France. Snowfall and freezing rain expected to last “for a few hours”before “sweet air definitely wins”specifies the meteorological site.