2023-09-27 23:31:31
Deep bitterness for Joséphine’s family and loved ones. The man behind the brutal death of this 91-year-old retiree on November 6, 2020 in Boulogne-Billancourt is authorized to keep his driving license. This Wednesday, the Versailles Court of Appeal acquitted the motorist, aged 79 at the time, prosecuted for involuntary homicide, confirming the judgment rendered on July 7, 2022 by the Nanterre Criminal Court.
If she had won her civil case, the family of the deceased, disgusted by the decision, wanted to appeal. With the stated objective of having the license of the retiree involved in the fatal accident revoked. During the appeal hearing, which was held on September 12, the Advocate General also requested the cancellation of the person’s driving license, as well as a ban on applying for a new license for two years.
Because in the eyes of the Advocate General, the driver’s heart attack which caused the accident could not be attributed solely to fatality. “I subscribe to the predictable nature of this discomfort, since he knew that he had to have a pacemaker fitted and that an operation date was known,” he observed during the debates.
“He was a heart patient”
The investigation into the circumstances of the accident concluded that the 79-year-old motorist had suffered a heart attack. On the video surveillance images used by the police, he was seen driving at a normal speed before suddenly accelerating. The man then moved onto the sidewalk and mowed down two pedestrians, including Joséphine who died from her head and chest trauma.
“He was a cardiac, vascular patient, who had an aortic prosthesis installed in 2011, who suffered from high blood pressure, a heart rate which fell to 32, cardiac rest phases of 2 seconds, insisted the lawyer for the victim’s family, Me Arnaud Rivoal, during the hearing. He was anything but asymptomatic. »
At first instance, then on appeal, the motorist’s lawyer had on the contrary contested the foreseeable nature of this heart attack. “In all the medical certificates that we have, at no time is there the inclusion of a recommendation, a ban, a simple warning telling him not to drive… He had heart problems, but like tens of thousands of people who drive every day, she insisted. If there was a proven risk, wouldn’t his cardiologist, whom he has known for twenty years, have advised him against driving? Age is not yet an aggravating cause, it is perhaps a societal or moral question but it is not for the court to judge. »
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