The prefecture and the departmental council had alerted residents of the department on Saturday morning, inviting them to avoid all travel on the roads due to the freezing rain forecast for the evening.
A phenomenon called “supercooled rain”, which transformed the asphalt into an ice rink from sunset and during part of the night, mainly in the areas of Beaune, Dijon, the Saône plain and Auxois. This Sunday, the toll is heavy.
Fifty-one road accidents were recorded Saturday evening by state services on the Côte-d’Orien road network. Thirty-one people were injured and a 20-year-old young man lost his life on the A6, near Merceuil.
“The cold, the night and the lack of information made this situation very anxiety-provoking”
A traumatic episode for many motorists. Like Charlène, who had to return to Lyon at the end of the day, after visiting her family near Beaune.
“I knew the highway was closed. But I didn’t know if it was due to the accident or the fact that the roads were impassable,” says the 26-year-old young woman.
“No one expected freezing rain of this magnitude. In the cold, alone in my car, I started to have an anxiety attack. A gentleman, in a car nearby, came to reassure me. After three hours, we were able to leave. The debris from the crashed cars was still present and the deceased was under a white sheet. A chilling scene that stays in my mind. I finally arrived in Lyon at midnight, driving very carefully. But I had a really bad experience with it. I had trouble getting to sleep, mulling over these images. I ride a lot, but this is the first time I’ve experienced such a distressing situation. The cold, the night and the lack of information made this situation very anxiety-provoking. »
From Provence to Dijon, spending the night in Chalon
Marie, who lives in Fontaine-lès-Dijon, had to cross a good part of France this Saturday. After visiting her son in Bouches-du-Rhône, in the middle of the week, she returned to Côte-d’Or in the company of her mother-in-law, aged 87 and whose mobility is reduced. But their journey was interrupted at the gates of the Côte-d’Or. “We were informed of the traffic ban for heavy goods vehicles, of the accident in Beaune and all the others on the A31, the A36…” she explains.
“At 6:30 p.m., my husband told me on the phone that our street, our sidewalk, our terrace were real ice rinks. The Saône-et-Loire seemed not to be affected, so I drove as long as possible. Until the north of Chalon, where we finally exited the highway to reach a hotel near the tollbooth. We were able to unwind, get a good night’s sleep and hit the road again around 11 a.m. on Sunday morning, in good conditions. »
“I have never seen so many accidents and flashing lights in such a short time”
Lucy, from Dijon, was driving in the opposite direction. She was supposed to go to Prissé, near Mâcon, at the end of the afternoon. Caught in traffic jams on the A6, she saw her vehicle hit by another.
“We had to stop at the nearest motorway rest area to examine the damage, with it being impossible to find the car that had hit us. We waited until the highway was unblocked following the fatal accident and for the temperatures to rise a little. Then we returned to Dijon, via the Route des Grands Crus. It was a night of horror. We didn’t understand why the A6 hadn’t been closed, like the A38. And even less the presence of heavy goods vehicles, which overtook on the second lane while the road was impassable. I have never seen so many accidents and flashing lights in such a short time. It was apocalyptic! »
Belgium
