Three days after the accident which claimed the lives of five children, on the A7 in the Drôme, on July 20, the four other passengers of the Renault Scénic were still hospitalized Thursday July 23 at the Edouard-Herriot hospital in Lyon as well as at the Woman-Mother-Child hospital in Bron, in the Rhône. Yacine, the father of Vénissieux (Rhône) who was driving the minivan, regained consciousness. His wife, seriously burned, was still in serious condition. And the vital prognoses of his eight-year-old son and his 90% burnt sister-in-law were still engaged.
On the investigation side, the first expertises point to a rupture of the Renault Scénic turbo which would have caused the engine fire and the fatal exit from the road. "The failure neutralized all the braking assistance systems, resulting in a sensation of braking that does not work," said the prosecutor of the Republic of Valence Alex Perrin, confirming the indications given by the driver. before falling into a coma.
The first results of the investigation sparked a controversy over the liability of the car manufacturer, now pointed out by the family's lawyer. Me Nicolas Cellupica intends to hold Renault to account and is considering setting up a civil party as soon as a judicial investigation is opened.
About sixty testimonials received in 24 hours
"No human fault is blamed", asserts the lawyer by evacuating any driving error and any link with the overload of the vehicle ( Editor's note: nine people were on board in this 7-seater car ). “It was the turbo that broke, it is a technical problem for the manufacturer. Renault will have to answer for its responsibilities in this dramatic accident, ”warns Me Nicolas Cellupica.
It seems that the Scénic of this Vénissieux family is not the only one to have encountered serious turbo problems. The lawyer at the Paris bar explains that a number of motorists have contacted him since Wednesday to deliver their testimonies. “I receive calls, emails, messages from all over the world telling people how their turbo exploded. Many describe the same circumstances, black smoke, then the release of the brakes ", confides Me Nicolas Cellupica, assuring that it is always Renault vehicles," often Scénic, but also Space ".
The lawyer is now working to compile and verify all these testimonies, about sixty arrived in 24 hours. With the hypothesis of a series of defective turbo in 2005, year of the Scénic de Vénissieux.
An "avalanche of brutal breakages"
Me Cellupica also notes that the UFC Que Choisir had published, in 2006, an investigation into the technical problems of Renault turbos. Under the title “Renault breaks but does not bend”, the consumers' federation stated on January 31, 2006 that “the most widely used Renault turbo diesel engine is not reliable”. She had launched an investigation "in front of the avalanche of brutal breakages of which consumers are victims".
These investigations focused on the Renault 1.9 Dci turbo diesel engine, equipping millions of models of Scénic, Mégane and Espace models. "Its failure rate is above average," argued the UFC - What to choose, detailing the potential consequences of these damages. “A turbo that gives up the ghost is an engine that suddenly loses its power and then races to over-revving, without being able to stop it, before finally breaking down […]. This is accompanied by din, engine screaming, and smoke, burnt oil ”. The union of independent experts, quoted by Que Choisir, had also estimated that "a damage of this nature endangers the occupants of the vehicle and possibly other users". At the time, the manufacturer had not organized a recall.
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Joined this Thursday July 23, the direction of the communication of Renault answered "not to have enough information to make comments".
