the essential
Tuesday January 14, a driver was arrested north of Rouen and placed in police custody after knocking down three cyclists in the city center, one of whom was life-threatening, before fleeing.
We know a little more about the van which knocked down three people on Tuesday January 14 in Rouen (Seine-Maritime). “This morning around 9 a.m., a vehicle hit a person, then two others further away, in the streets of downtown Rouen, before continuing its journey out of Rouen,” said Sébastien Gallois, public prosecutor of Rouen, in a press release.
Also read:
A woman knocks down three cyclists and seriously injures two: she flees at high speed before being arrested
Vital prognosis committed
Earlier in the morning, Sdis had confirmed an intervention with six engines and 14 firefighters to help the victims after a call at 8:41 a.m. The accident took place on rue Alsace-Lorraine, in the city center of Rouen. Three women, who were riding a bicycle, were hit by a van. “One is slightly injured, another is seriously injured, but without a life-threatening prognosis, a third is in intensive care with a life-threatening prognosis,” said Sébastien Gallois.
Custody
When help arrived, the driver had disappeared and fled. Pursued by the gendarmerie, she was arrested at 10:15 a.m. according to the Seine-Maritime prefecture. “The driver, born in 1977, was arrested in Buchy (around thirty kilometers north of Rouen, editor’s note) by the gendarmerie, and placed in police custody,” explained the public prosecutor. According to France 3, a roadblock by the police, with harrows on the ground, allowed the vehicle’s tires to be punctured.
-Still according to the prosecution, “witnesses reported possible suicidal intentions”. According to Ici Normandie, several weapons were also found while an investigation was opened and entrusted to the Rouen judicial police in order to determine whether it was an accident or a deliberate act.
“Absolute terror”
An accident which took place while many witnesses were present in this busy street in Rouen. One of them, interviewed by AFP, said he heard “loud screams coming from rue Alsace-Lorraine” and saw “a crowd of around ten passers-by gathered around a lifeless person on the ground.” next to a bicycle.
This witness saw police cars arriving “from every street corner, and leaving at full speed, in a chase scene, some witnesses giving information which directed the vehicles” before the arrival of emergency services, who remained on site “a long time” in the street closed to traffic. The mayor (PS) of Rouen Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol expressed “absolute terror” on the same social network and thanked the emergency services.
