It was a particularly heavy hearing this Thursday in Bayonne, with many tears, those of those responsible for the accident of September 7 on the D945 in Méharin, near Saint-Palais. Clément, 20 years old, a farmer on his parents’ farm, also a factory worker, was at a loss to explain his action in court. Himself seriously injured in the accident, he says he does not remember the circumstances, admits to having driven the car heavily intoxicated, because “I felt stronger”.
Also in tears is his mother, sitting behind him, when the president tries to make the young driver feel the seriousness of his actions, of his responsibility. His driving license was only probationary, he wanted to take his car despite his internship supervisor’s offers to bring him back and his alcohol consumption that evening: the equivalent of 14 drinks according to the calculations of a assessor judge.
Crying faces too, when the lawyer of one of the injured people – who has barely left the hospital – talks about the victims, in particular the one who will die, lying on the side of the road for almost three hours. Lying with cries of pain, while the firefighters try to extricate Clément.
“It’s not fate”
Their eyes reddened again, when one of the victim’s three daughters told the court that her mother “was torn away, not by fate, but by the fault of a man who chose to take his vehicle while drunk”.
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The prosecutor demanded three years in prison, two of which were suspended. The sentence was increased by the judges to four years in prison, three of which were suspended. He will serve his prison sentence under an electronic bracelet. His driving license was revoked, with a ban on retesting for one year.
A judgment accepted by all parties. No one planned to appeal. The amounts to estimate the damages will be examined in the civil court next June.
