Accident in Loire-Atlantique: this drunk driver “ruined our vacation”

Monday May 6, 2024, the vacationer moves forward with difficulty, and sits on the bench of victims of Criminal Court from Saint-Nazaire, next to his companion.

This 28-year-old executive assistant had arrived the previous Wednesday from a town in Oise for a few days of vacation in Pays de Retz.

The car was driving in the middle of the road

On Friday May 3, 2024, the couple was going to the market in La Bernerie-en-Retz (Loire-Atlantique), when the driver noticed that in front of her, the cars were turning to the right, which she did, realizing that a Renault Megane was driving in the middle of the road. However, both wing mirror stuck together, without the person responsible for the disaster stopping.

She turned around and followed him honking.

The couple quickly realized “that the driver spoke like someone who was drunk”.

As he returned to his vehicle, the young woman stood in front of him to prevent him from fleeing, while the municipal police officer had just arrived and the driver’s companion, at her door, were trying to hold him back.

He refused to turn off the engine

The forty-year-old refused to turn off the enginesuddenly accelerated, hitting the young woman and causing her a knee sprain.

The unfortunate woman followed the hearing crying and suffering. Indeed, due to medical treatment, she cannot take anti-inflammatories.

Placed in detention on the evening of Sunday May 5, 2024, the forty-year-old was tried in the form of immediate appearance.

He admitted that he had drunk three or four glasses of vodka, and that he had borrowed a vehicle “to go and buy a bottle of vodka not very far away”. He declared that he had no more memories “until the gendarmes arrived”, and showed regret and remorse.

I am truly more than sorry for the victim, it shows me how much this product disconnects you from reality. If I could, I would like to erase these two days.

The young woman had seven days off work, but she clarified at the hearing: “I am very sporty, I know very well that in seven days, I will not be able to run and swim like before. He ruined our vacation.”

He escapes continued detention

“So much the better for this posture of contrition, after significant damage,” said the prosecutor.

Noting the blood alcohol level of 1.92gthe magistrate recalled that the defendant’s license had been withdrawn for the second time two days earlier, when he was controlled with 1.20 g.

He did not appreciate the forty-year-old’s intention to leave the scene, specifying that fortunately, the municipal police officer had been able to control him with professional gestures.

“He is a man who is not doing well,” noted the defense lawyer: “He does not drink regularly, but at the slightest obstacle.”

License canceled, €300 fine

The prosecutor having requested continued detention, she insisted on the solid guarantees that this “hard worker” presents: accommodation with his mother, work, ongoing medical treatment, awareness of his addiction.

The court followed the requisitions, with the exception of the return to prison: eighteen months, twelve of which were suspended on probation. The driver’s driving license has been cancelled, he will not be able to retake it for a year. Refusal to comply will result in a fine of €300.

The young woman’s civil interests will be debated on October 10, 2024.

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