Europe 1 with AFP 4:09 p.m., April 27, 2022
The railway worker, the only natural person tried in Evry for the Brétigny rail disaster in 2013, said Wednesday, "very moved" before the court.
Aged 24 at the time of the events, this former railway executive, tried for "manslaughter" and "involuntary injury", faces up to three years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros.
The railway worker, the only natural person tried in Evry for the Brétigny rail disaster in 2013, said Wednesday, "very moved" before the court, that he "had not passed a day" without him "thinking about this terrible accident.
Aged 24 at the time of the events, this former railway executive, tried for "manslaughter" and "involuntary injury", faces up to three years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros.
"I have the victims in mind, I recognize the families..."
"My thoughts go out to those victims who will relive this disaster. I have the victims in mind, I recognize the families... Not a day has passed without me thinking about this terrible accident", declared soberly the defendant, wearing blue shirt and dark glasses.
"I am very moved and I will be every day of this trial," he added, in his opening remarks.
The local director, now 33, will have to answer for a "faulty assessment", that of having carried out "only the last inspection of the tracks", with "manifestly insufficient" attention.
Throughout the investigation, he assured that he had not detected any anomaly during this tour carried out eight days before the derailment of the Paris-Limoges Intercity at Brétigny station.
In question, the reversal of a steel fishplate - a sort of large staple connecting two consecutive rails - which derailed the train.
Born in Lyon, he had trained as an engineer, and had "a crush on the 'track' part".
>> READ ALSO -
Brétigny sur Orge trial: why the SNCF does not consider itself criminally liable
First in charge of personnel security in a station in Essonne
"I found that the job was more exciting, manual, physical, there were more people, in teams of five, six, ten agents, for maintenance operations," he said.
According to him, "what we did had a strong impact".
His first post at the SNCF dates back to October 2012, a few months before the accident, as a “production unit safety assistant” in Juvisy, Essonne.
He was in charge of staff security.
Wednesday morning, at this trial which runs until June 17, concerned the operation of the two companies, the National SNCF Company (criminal heiress of SNCF Infra responsible for maintenance) and the manager of the SNCF Réseau tracks (which succeeded to Réseau Ferré de France, RFF), also judged as legal persons.