More than a year after the tragedy of Millas, which had killed six people in December 2017, a new fatal accident occurred at a crossing Monday morning in the Marne. A TER hit a car stopped on the track, killing the four occupants of the light vehicle, a woman and three children.
What happened ?
The accident occurred just before 10 am on Friday morning at the commune of Avenay-Val-d'Or, said the prosecutor of the Republic of Reims, Matthew Bourrette. The vehicle, an SUV, was stopped on the track when a TER arriving from Epernay and circulating towards Reims hit it. Heard by the investigators, the driver, in a state of shock and with a negative blood alcohol level, claimed that he was driving at 118km / h, or 2km / h under the speed limit, when he saw the car and activated emergency braking. But the TER stopped only 400 meters after the point of impact.
How did the car end up on the track? "The first barrier was depressed, which suggests that the vehicle was able to force the passage," said Matthew Bourrette, while inviting "caution". "There is no evidence why the vehicle was engaged," he said. The four occupants of the car died instantly, while four passengers on the train, which numbered about 20, were slightly injured.
What do we know about victims?
The driver was a 37-year-old maternal assistant who was on her way to an end-of-year party preparation, according to the first elements of the survey. Alcohol tests, the results of which are not yet known, have been carried out. She was traveling with her 10-year-old daughter, whose body was "in all likelihood" removed from the vehicle at the end of the day, according to the prosecutor's office.
Two other bodies were ejected from the car and found nearby. DNA analysis must confirm that these are two children that were guarded by the young woman, aged three and a year. Autopsies should be performed in the coming days, according to the prosecutor. A crisis cell was also opened.
Was this crossing dangerous?
According to the mayor of Avenay-Val-d'Or, this is the first time an accident occurs at this crossing, which is not accidental. On the spot, SNCF Réseau confirmed that it was not on the list of level crossings at risk and stated that it was in good condition. The investigation must now confirm these elements. It has already established that the sound signal indicating the passage of the train was heard by workers carrying out work nearby, according to the floor. The luminous signal that accompanied him was "in a continuous position" when the gendarmes arrived on the spot.
A detachment of five experts from the Criminal Investigation Institute of the National Gendarmerie was commissioned to model the scene in 3D, "to understand the causes of death" of the occupants of the car, the police said on Twitter. This process has already been used during the railway disasters of the Pignes train in 2014 and Millas. He uses a drone.
A detachment of 5 experts IRCGN was engaged today on the collision between a train and a vehicle in the Marne.
As in the past (Annot 2014, Millas 2017), the experts will model the scene in 3D to understand the causes of the death of the occupants of the vl.
A "barrier expert" was expected at the scene of the drama on Monday night, according to Matthieu Bourrette. "We will verify that the maintenance of this crossing complies with the regulations," he assured, advancing the tracks of a "railway accident", a "road accident", or a disaster mixing both. The investigators also received the testimony of a person claiming to have been able to cross the crossing in the opposite direction on the eve of the collision, before seeing "the second barrier (that crossed by the SUV involved Monday, ed )" to drop unintentionally ". "This is a point to check, which I emphasize that it is very different from the unfolding of the supposed facts of this day," said the prosecutor.