The 57-year-old driver was found guilty of “reckless manslaughter” and given a two-year suspended prison sentence.
SourceAFP
© ERIC BERACASSAT / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP
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Lhe Perpignan Criminal Court was judging a motorist who had fatally hit an 8-year-old child in February 2022 while he was crossing the street on a pedestrian crossing near a lake in the Pyrénées-Orientales. The driver was found guilty of “reckless manslaughter” under “conduct unsuited to the circumstances”. She was sentenced to a two-year suspended prison sentence and a suspension of her driver’s license for twelve months. The victim’s family contested this verdict.
On February 25, 2022, the accused had struck 8-year-old Yanis on a pedestrian crossing near Lake Villeneuve-de-la-Raho, near Perpignan. The accident happened in front of the mother and sister of the child, who died of his injuries. The prosecution had requested a five-year suspended prison sentence and an eighteen-month license suspension.
An “inadmissible” decision, for the father of the victim
During the trial, marked by reports for expertise, the driver explained that she had been dazzled by the sun. The victim’s family accused him of having dragged the little boy 22 meters after the collision and asked for the opening of a judicial investigation. This request was rejected on Tuesday by the court, considering that “the circumstances of the accident are perfectly established”. “It is established that the vehicle did not roll over the child”, but that Yanis was “projected in shock”, indicated the president.
The court also ruled that the hit and run could not be considered as an aggravating circumstance because the motorist herself warned the gendarmes after the accident and identified herself.
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When the deliberations were announced, the child’s father cried foul, calling the decision “inadmissible”. “The answer given to us by the court is that it is not serious and that we must move on,” he protested, demanding an appeal.
“The mourning is terrible and there is a misunderstanding, but I do not have the impression that there is an injustice”, commented for his part the lawyer of the motorist, Mr.e Matthew Vachet.