A vehicle whose septuagenarian driver "
lost control
" "
accidentally
" overturned and injured ten pedestrians on Saturday April 22, including four classified as "
absolute emergency
", in Berck-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais), where hold "
international kite meetings
", AFP learned from the prefecture and the prosecution.
Around 6:30 p.m., this vehicle “
driven by a seventy-six-year-old disabled person hit the crowd
,” the public prosecutor of Boulogne-sur-Mer said in a statement.
“
The driver would have lost control of his vehicle after having confused the brake pedal and that of the accelerator
”, he specified.
“
Tested negative for alcohol and narcotics, the defendant, slightly injured after the intervention of a witness, will be heard later in this context
”.
Four people with head injuries
The prosecution deplores a total of “
eleven victims
” including four in “
absolute urgency
”, and the others in “
relative urgency
”.
The four most seriously injured are victims of head trauma, according to a statement from the prefecture, which also reports, in addition to the injured, a "shocked four-year-old girl
"
after witnessing the scene.
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The pedestrians were knocked down as they "
walked along the road on the outskirts of the city center
", or "
outside the sanctuary area as part of international kite meetings
", said the prefecture.
The victims were transported to hospitals in Lille, Boulogne-sur-Mer and Montreuil-sur-Mer.
According to the firefighters, the four people in "
absolute emergency
" are women aged 40, 52, 75 and 82.
The Boulogne-sur-Mer prosecutor has opened an investigation in the act of "
unintentional injuries by driver and lack of control
" entrusted to the Berck-sur-Mer police station, he said.
Organized by the city, the Berck International Kite Meetings bring together hundreds of thousands of spectators from all over the world over several days.
The program is punctuated by demonstrations of aerial choreography, construction workshops and competitions of the world championship of acrobatic kites.
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