Two dead in an accident in Ille-et-Vilaine, a company condemned

The end of a 10-year legal drama. On June 19, 2024, the Court of Cassation dismissed the appeal of a company from the Pays de Vitré.

The latter had been condemned by the Rennes Court of Appeal in 2021 as “entirely responsible” for an accident which had caused two dead on the road between Vitré and La Guerche-de-Bretagne in July 2014.

In a judgment made public, the Court of Cassation finally definitively condemned the company. For the families and loved ones of the two victims, this is a huge relief after a long procedure.

Two young parents had died

In July 2014, a terrible tragedy occurred between Vitré and La Guerche-de-Bretagne, on departmental road 178. This busy road is regularly the scene of dramatic accidents.

A collision occurred between two vehicles shortly after 5 p.m. Two drivers were involved, two 28 year olds. The driver of the first vehicle died at the scene of the accident. The driver died of his injuries in the evening in hospital. Both were young parents.

At the time of the accident, it was found that the driver was driving a vehicle with a trailer overloaded with 67 boards of 4.52 meters each purchased from a company.

His vehicle had gone into a tailspin. The collision with the young driver arriving opposite was inevitable.

“No fault attributed to the buyer”

Initially, the victim’s partner did not want to take legal action against the company. But faced with her reaction, the matter was ultimately brought to court.

“We had talks, but they had done nothing to improve the safety of their customers and were unwilling to do anything. I didn’t understand why they didn’t want to take the steps. Two people died and two families were destroyed. I told myself that I had his honor to defend. I want to leave a trace of this accident and for it to be useful to others,” Sophie (not her real name) explained to us in December 2021.

A few months earlier, the Rennes Court of Appeal had recognised that “no fault” could be attributed to the buyer and that the selling company was “entirely responsible for the consequences of the accident”.

Set a precedent

Furthermore, it was also recognized that the victim had “not been informed” of the total weight of the boards purchased.

The legal drama is over, Sophie now hopes that her case will be “ jurisprudence ».

“I want to send a message like a booster shot. A company is responsible in the event of overload. This is a real problem. It’s up to businesses to put things in place. »

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