It was 1:45 p.m. when eight people, specially from the Var, arrived in the courtroom. All held in their hands a photo of Didier Martin, who died in a road accident on September 9, 2021…
It was 1:45 p.m. when eight people, specially from the Var, arrived in the courtroom. All held in their hands a photo of Didier Martin, who died in a road accident on September 9, 2021 at Lardin-Saint-Lazare.
At the helm, Reinis Poitevin is accused of manslaughter. It was he who hit the victim in a head-on collision.
No memory
This 22-year-old, unemployed man has the features of a child. In front of the microphone, he lowers his head and speaks in a very small voice. “It is complicated to express myself on these facts. It’s not the most pleasant feeling. There is a lot of sadness. It is the hardest experience of my life. Unfortunately, I have no memory of that day. I would like to know why I consumed so much and took the car, but I have no answer to these questions. »
The president recalls that the driver had a blood alcohol level of 2.55 g, a rate which can cause an alcoholic coma. But he doesn’t remember anything, indicating that the alcohol causes him amnesia for days on end. He admits to drinking beer often.
That day, he had also used cannabis: “At that time, I started smoking CBD mixed with marijuana. I wanted to stop, except that I think it was stronger than me. »
“Let’s stop finding excuses for people who do anything!” »
Then comes the moment, terribly moving, when Nathalie Martin comes to testify. Between two sobs, the widow covers her husband with adjectives: “Caring, exceptional, kind, jovial, close to his children, protective. She breaks down: “Life without him is terrible. I have to stay alive for my children and my grandchildren. »
Chilling face-to-face
In the court, the children cry on hearing the ordeal that was the last moments of their father, crushed in the cockpit and dying for an hour. “I can’t forgive, it’s not possible,” asserts Nathalie. She is two meters from the defendant. who lowers his head. Arms crossed behind your back. A chilling encounter.
“Our life is hell,” says the 36-year-old son. Our whole family is dead. Let’s stop finding excuses for people who do anything! He killed my father. Let justice be done ! »
Reinis Poitevin speaks again: “I understand, it’s because of me. I would have preferred it to be me rather than him. He had a family. I never wanted it to happen like this. »
Two things are shocking. The first is the lack of a formal apology. The second is the defendant’s record. In addition to thefts, he had been sentenced in 2020 for driving without a license with the consumption of narcotics.
The prosecution recalled the maximum incurred for this offense (ten years in prison) and requested a sentence of five years in prison, two of which were probationary and compulsory care.