Betty Jakov asked the presiding judge for permission to remove her mask at the bar of the Seine-et-Marne Assize Court.
“I want him to see my face.
I am the mother of the one you killed, ”she blurted, turning to the box, in which David Patterson is, on trial for murder and attempted murder.
On August 14, 2017, this 32-year-old inhabitant of La Ferté-sous-Jouarre threw his BMW against the terrace of the Cesena pizzeria, in Sept-Sorts.
A criminal act that injured a dozen people and took the life of Angela Jakov.
That evening, the 13-year-old was having dinner with her parents and two brothers.
Their table is the first that the car has hit.
“I hear screeching tires.
I turn around and see the BMW coming towards us.
The hood was not even two meters away.
I didn't have time to react, ”said Betty Jakov.
Once the shock passed, she went to find her family in the restaurant.
“I saw a man who was taking care of my daughter.
I saw the flesh on the back, the big wound on the lower back ”.
"He sentenced us to life and I hope he will be sentenced to life"
Dimitri, her 4-year-old son, is also seriously injured.
“I saw his leg.
The torn skin, the flesh, the bone.
I went to see Angela.
I saw the blood in the ears and the mouth.
I understood that I had lost her.
He (
Editor's note: David Patterson
) cut us off.
He sentenced us to life and I wish he would be sentenced to life.
»The mother of the family will go by helicopter with Dimitri to the Necker hospital in Paris (15th century).
The start of a long ordeal for Dimitri, who had to wear braces on his legs and learn to walk again.
The daily life of the Jakov family, for years and even today, will be punctuated by stays in hospitals and rehabilitation centers, visits to psychologists, psychiatrists and physiotherapists.
Melun, Friday April 9, 2021. In front of the Assize Court Nikola, Sasha and Betty Jakov (from left to right) came to tell about the tragedy that occurred in Sept-Sorts and evoked the memory of Angela.
Guénaèle CALANT
If Betty Jakov holds up, it is thanks to the many relatives who have supported her family, which has remained united since the tragedy.
“My sons, I don't want to educate them about hatred and revenge.
"What guides the Jakov couple are values, anchored in them: work, education," respect for family and others ", in the words of Sasha Jakov.
The father, who literally “flew through the air” after being hit by the BMW, also paid a heavy price.
He underwent seven operations to recover the use of his left leg.
That evening, he did not pass out, but remained pinned to the ground, due to the injury.
He didn't see much of the chaos.
“I need to know everything,” he told the court.
"Some filmed instead of helping"
Reason why he insisted on meeting the young man who tried to rescue Angela.
This client of the Chinese restaurant, next to the Cesena restaurant, had rushed into the pizzeria, to help the wounded.
He stayed next to Angela, while the firefighters tried to resuscitate her.
“I held the infusion at the start.
I gave them the gloves, the glasses.
I helped put on the mask.
I gave the scissors to cut the t-shirt.
"
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The Samu doctor will only be able to note Angela's death.
“I closed his eyes.
I put her hair well and closed the bag ”.
The young man said it at the hearing, revolted: “Some were filming instead of helping.
This is not normal.
"
Sept-Sorts (Seine-et-Marne), August 14, 2017. The driver of the BMW had voluntarily darkened on the crowded terrace of a pizzeria.
/ DR
It is with modesty that Sasha Jakov addressed the jurors: “I am not hiding it from you.
I am jealous of the life you have.
I feel like I'm never going to get out of it.
"Before giving his opinion on David Patterson:" When I hear that his main expense, at the time, was 350 euros of cannabis per month!
He says he's okay in prison and taking his medicine.
Let him stay there.
He has nothing to do with society.
"
Nikola was 17 when he lost his sister Angela.
“That evening, she asked me to change places at the table.
Like a big brother who wants to annoy his sister, I refused.
I regret not having changed places.
I should have left.
Not her.
The siblings were united.
“I had the urge to commit suicide.
I sank into cannabis.
Today, thanks to his parents, the young man is better.
The trial continues next week.
