Some 500 people gathered Wednesday night in Avenay-Val-d'Or, in the Marne, to pay tribute to the maternal assistant and three children died Monday in a collision between their car and a TER at a passage in level of this small village in Champagne. These people gathered in silence around 7 pm in the small square next to the crossing with flowers, soft toys and heart-shaped red balloons.
"An unnamed drama comes to mourn three families and the entire village, we are here to show our compassion, our support for these families hit by misfortune," said Mayor Philippe Maussire in this park where a commemorative plaque will soon be installed.
The train was traveling at 118 km / h
This accident between a car and a TER occurred Monday morning on the D201 linking Ay-Champagne to Avenay-Val-d'Or, 30 kilometers from Reims. The train driver, who was coming off a curve and "was driving straight ahead at 118 km / h", only "belatedly" saw the vehicle "on the track", and despite 'emergency,' could only stop 400 m beyond the point of impact, "said at a press conference Monday evening the prosecutor of the Republic of Reims Matthieu Bourrette.
REPORTAGE - Collision in the Marne: "When children die, the trauma is even deeper"
The four occupants of the vehicle - the driver born in 1982, her 10-year-old daughter, a three-year-old girl and a one-year-old infant she was babysitting - all died "on the spot," he said. .
The crossing was not considered sensitive
"There is nothing to know at this time why the vehicle was engaged on the tracks while the signals - sound and light - and the barrier system seemed to invite not to cross the passage," added the prosecutor who opened an investigation for "involuntary manslaughter against X". In addition, he also referred to the conditional "testimony" stating "inadvertent" lowering of the barrier the day before the tragedy.
This automatic crossing was not "in the national list" of those considered as "sensitive" (located for example in places lacking visibility), for its part indicated the CEO of SNCF Réseau Patrick Jeantet. One of the two half-barriers has been "folded" and "the investigators will say why," he said.