Death of Neko, cat crushed by a TGV: SNCF finally released on appeal

This is undoubtedly the epilogue of this sad affair. The SNCF was acquitted on appeal on Friday, almost two years after the events, indicates France Bleu. On January 2, 2023, the cat Neko, with a valid transport ticket, had escaped the attention of his mistress who was preparing to leave Paris for Bordeaux with her 15-year-old daughter.

The animal had taken refuge under the train, in Montparnasse station, a few minutes before departure. Despite requests from the cat's owners to delay departure, the train, with 800 passengers on board, left, crushing the feline which, according to the railway company, was “not not visible » until the convoy leaves.

SNCF Voyageurs was prosecuted before the police court for “unintentional harm to the life or integrity of a domestic animal”. She was found guilty of “negligence” and sentenced to a fine of 1,000 euros on Tuesday by the Paris police court. The company also had to pay 1,000 euros to each of the two plaintiffs, owners of the animal, in damages.

No fault committed

At the appeal hearing at the end of September, the train controller reiterated that he had “ I had to blow my whistle, longer and louder than usual, hoping to scare him, then I closed the doors and the train left.. The prosecution had requested the acquittal of the SNCF, considering that no fault had been committed. An opinion followed by the court of appeal.

The affair had stirred public opinion. “ Aren't you ashamed? ”, the Brigitte Bardot Foundation had asked the SNCF. The Minister of the Interior at the time Gérald Darmanin said to himself “ particularly shocked ».