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On the second day of the trial of Alex Rodriguez, tried for fatally striking the 21-year-old Castres in 2016, the victim's three sisters gave poignant testimonies, between demand for justice and tribute to their missing brother. For his part, the accused defended himself from any desire to cause harm, citing “an uncontrolled reflex”.
While awaiting the verdict delivered this evening, the second day of the hearing was particularly trying for the family and loved ones of Samir Dahou Dahmani. Many tears shed and back and forth outside the courtroom to avoid being confronted with the images of the drama of June 18, 2016, where the 21-year-old Castres, then on a motocross bike, was fatally hit by a gray van, in the Aillot district. The driver, Alex Rodriguez, is on trial for “violence with use or threat of a weapon resulting in death without intention to cause it”.
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First day of Alex Rodriguez's trial at the Albi assizes: “It was an avoidance reflex” swears the passenger in the van who killed Dahou Dahmani
Devoted to the investigation aspect, the morning had already been punctuated by a strong reaction from the father of “Dahou”, when a photo of the accident was projected by mistake on the screen. “You killed my son!” said the man, until then discreet, to the accused. The hearing was suspended for a few minutes to reduce tension.
In the afternoon, the three sisters of the Toulouse delivery driver wanted to speak. Not without pain, not without tears, again. “Samir was a respectful, shy boy and loved by everyone. He was respected too, because he matured quite young,” began Kheira, the youngest, before insisting on the “integrity” of her brother.
“He wasn’t a thug.”
“He had professional and personal stability. He was preparing for his marriage. After his baccalaureate, he took on several odd jobs to gain financial independence. He was on a permanent contract in a delivery company. He was not a thug who keeps the blocks of cities where he spends his days doing nothing, he was a worker. Our life was destroyed.”
The eldest sibling speaks of “a normal boy”, who “did not steal this motorbike”. “He told me about his desire to buy a motorcycle, he had saved for it.” And to end with this heartbreaking confidence: “My son is too young to understand what the assizes are but he asked me before I left: “Are you going to bring uncle back with you?”
“I was 9 years old, I grew up with him: he was my big brother, my best friend, my security. I was his princess. That day, he left the house after a nap. He never came home. I saw my brother on the ground, I thought he was going to wake up…”
The peak of emotion will arrive with the little sister, Marwa, present on the day of the loss of her brother. “I was 9 years old, I grew up with him: he was my big brother, my best friend, my security. I was his princess. That day, he left the house after a nap. He never came home. I saw my brother on the ground, I thought he was going to wake up…” A testimony of a handful of minutes before turning around and collapsing to the ground, supported by his family. .
While waiting for the lawyers' pleadings and the attorney general's indictment this Friday, all three are waiting “for justice to do its duty”. Like a message sent to the jurors. Their decision will be rendered in the evening.
Alex Rodriguez: “We weren’t going there with the idea of getting her back by force”
His words were the last of an emotional day. Alex Rodriguez, heard for many minutes, sometimes mishandled by an incisive Mr. Alexandre Martin, was faithful to the image he conveys: calm and precise in his explanations. Driver for his colleague who came to “locate” his stolen motorcycle several times before in Toulouse, he indicates that he never had the intention of voluntarily stopping the motorcycle. However, his steering wheel to the left, in the opposite lane, raises questions.
“I was traveling at 30 km/h. A motorbike came rear-wheeling and was making waves from left to right in the middle of the street. It was moving into our lane. Not knowing what to do anymore and feeling trapped and in danger, I had an uncontrolled reflex. It was the only escape at the moment. It all happened in a fraction of a second.” And Samir Dahou impaled himself in the front right side of the vehicle, even though he was back on his two wheels.
On the crowbar and the baton found in his friend's van, the accused denies bad intentions: “We were not going there with the idea of recovering it by force.” Moreover, six months earlier, he had managed by his own means to recover his stolen motorcycle in a field near the Mirail district, in Toulouse, without violence. By running towards his bike, the pilot had scared away the two young people who were on it.
On June 18, 2016, the end was completely different. “I was terribly saddened by this terrible accident. It is not easy to live with it, even today. And I wanted to clarify that on July 5, 2016, I sent a letter to my lawyer so that he transmits it to the lawyers of the civil party, in which I offer my condolences to the family.” Questioned in the evening, they assured that they had never received anything.
In the morning, the accident expert had pointed out the most probable scenario: the incursion of the van into the left lane to the point of hitting the motorcycle in the middle of the road. The subsequent hearing of witnesses tightened the grip around Alex Rodriguez a little more. To convince the jurors, it will take all the experience and tact of his lawyer Guy Debuisson.
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