Convicted of “negligent manslaughter“, she had initially fled the scene, before finally going to the gendarmerie.
A motorist, who had fatally hit an eight-year-old boy last February on a pedestrian crossing near a lake in the Pyrénées-Orientales, was sentenced on Tuesday to two years in prison suspended by the criminal court of Perpignan. The 57-year-old driver was found guilty ofnegligent manslaughter» with regard to «conduct inappropriate to the circumstances“, declared the president of the court. In addition to the two-year suspended prison sentence, she was sentenced to a suspension of her driver’s license for twelve months.
On February 5, 2022, she hit eight-year-old Yanis as he crossed 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 18-month license suspension. During the trial, marked by reports for expertise, the driver explained that she had been dazzled by the sun.
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No aggravating circumstances despite the hit-and-run
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 by the court on Tuesday, finding that “the circumstances of the accident are fully established“. “It is established that the vehicle did not run over the child“, but that Yanis was “thrown in shock“said 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.
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 a call. “The grief is terrible and there’s a misunderstanding, but I don’t feel like there’s any injustice“, commented for his part the lawyer of the motorist, Me Matthieu Vachet.