It is a real tragedy which affected children at a leisure center on an after-school outing Wednesday June 5, 2024. Around 10 a.m., 12 children, accompanied by two adults, were hit by a car. The events occurred at the corner of avenue de Coligny and rue Jules-Ferry in La Rochelle.
According to firefighters, seven children were injured : three serious and four light. Among the seriously injured, one was seriously injured and had to be evacuated to Poitiers University Hospital by helicopter. The other two are in absolute emergency and one of them was evacuated by road to Poitiers, the last one is in relative emergency.
The 12 young people were in single file when they were hit
The 12 young people went to Franck Delmas Park where they had an event. According to the first testimonies, they were in single file when they were hit by an oncoming car. Some witnesses claimed to have heard screams and screams. A few minutes after the tragedy, the secretary general of the Charente-Maritime prefecture held a press conference on the scene and spoke of “terrible images“.
The Charente-Maritime prefecture also indicated that it had “activated the departmental operational center (COD) and mobilized all security and emergency services. It is imperative to avoid the area in order to allow the intervention of the emergency services“.
An emergency number has been opened
According to journalists from France Blue La Rochelle, who are present on site, it is a yellow Twingo car which is believed to be the cause of the accident. The front part of the vehicle appears to be sunken. According to information from BFMTV, An 83-year-old woman was behind the wheel of the car.. While she was placed in police custody, it was lifted because it was deemed incompatible with her state of health.
The prefecture has also activated a public information unit to answer questions from the population. If you have any questions, a telephone platform is open at 09 70 80 90 40 (free call).
