He lost his life, very young, in dramatic conditions. An 8-year-old child died late Saturday afternoon in Guilherand-Granges in Ardèche, very close to Valence (Drôme), reports the Dauphine Libéré. He lost his life while riding his bicycle and hit a local bus carrying at least ten passengers.
According to France Bleu, around 4:15 p.m., the transport vehicle in the colors of the Auvergne Rhône Alpes region was overtaking the child when the terrible collision took place. About thirty firefighters and the Samu were mobilized to try to resuscitate the young boy. In vain. The emergency services then took care of many witnesses who were very shocked.
“I ran them over,” the driver allegedly shouted
In particular his grandfather and his brother who accompanied him, according to the regional daily which reports the words of a bus passenger. “The driver stood up and yelled: I crushed them! “, concedes the young woman who was accompanied by her 10-year-old sister. The city of Guilherand-Granges, in shock, opened a psychological cell in the Agora municipal hall, near the scene of the tragedy, to support witnesses to the accident.
An investigation has been opened to try to understand the exact circumstances of the tragedy. The passengers of the bus which linked Aubenas to the Valence TGV station will be heard according to France Bleu, as will the driver whose alcohol and drug tests have proved negative. The mother of the child, who lives in Isère and had entrusted her children to the grandfather, must also be heard by the investigators.
Even if the town is the best equipped in the department in terms of number of kilometers of cycle paths, associations for the protection of cyclists explain that this area between Drôme and Ardèche, which is very popular, is a black spot for the safety of two-wheelers.