A brigadier from the Le Mans emergency police unit died Thursday in the performance of his duties, struck by the vehicle of the man to whom he was providing assistance. The driver was drunk and was trying to escape. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin is due to visit Thursday morning. 

A brigadier from the Le Mans emergency police unit was struck by a vehicle in the course of his missions, shortly before 4 a.m. on the night of Wednesday to Thursday, according to the Interior Ministry. A crew made up of three agents from the Le Mans emergency police unit intervened on call from the firefighters to assist a drunk driver of a vehicle that had fallen asleep in the middle of the track.

The suspect was arrested 

According to information from Europe 1, the firefighters on site failed to wake the driver. Called in as reinforcements, the police intervened. A sergeant leaned into the car to switch off the ignition. It was at this moment that the driver suddenly woke up and accelerated, dragging the officer and causing his death. The 24-year-old suspect then tried to escape on foot but was arrested and taken into custody. An investigation will determine the exact circumstances of this tragedy.

The brigadier died on the spot. He was 43 years old and the father of three daughters, the ministry said. Gérald Darmanin, the Minister of the Interior, is due to go to the Le Mans police station on Thursday morning.