ROAD ACCIDENT: Three children, aged 2, 6 and 12 years, died in a collision with another car, this Saturday 3rd March morning in Ploudaniel, Finistere
Three children, aged 2, 6 and 12 years, died in a collision with another car, this Saturday 3rd March morning in Ploudaniel, Finistere. Their father, a 46-year-old man, and his fourth child, an 11-year-old girl, have no physical injuries but are extremely shocked. Just like the driver of Nissan Qashqai who arrived in front: slightly injured, he was transported to Brest hospital for exams and medical treatment.
It’s a little past 11 am, this Saturday 3rd March in the morning, when a Ford Focus driven by a 46-year-old man with his four children on board, arrives from Landerneau, Finistere, on the departmental road 770. Au place Le Penfrat in Ploudaniel, the car goes off to the left at the end of a bend. A Nissan Qashqai driven by a 52-year-old man comes across.
In the collision between the two cars, the Focus is cut in half. The three children in the back, two boys and a girl aged 2, 6 and 12, lose their lives. Their sister, an 11-year-old girl seated in the passenger’s seat, is rescued and taken to the Morvan hospital in Brest. She is slightly hurt, but very shocked. The driver of the Focus is from La Roche-Maurice, and the driver of the Nissan , from Kernouës. The latter is medicalized and transported to the Brest hospital for control examinations.
Two fatal accidents in 2017
For some unknown reason, according to a witness in the accident, the family car allegedly “hit the aisle. It then went awry before banging against the Nissan coming in the opposite direction. The gendarmes of Lesneven and Landerneau, the departmental road safety squadron (the EDSR of Finistère), the Samu and the firefighters of Landerneau are on the spot. The Interdepartmental Directorate of Roads in the West, the Diro, bar the D770 the time the relief intervenes.
The anger of the mayor and residents
The mayor of Ploudaniel, Joel Marchadour, arrives at 11:15 am, just before the departure of the helicopter for the hospital:
“I am shocked, dismayed, but also very exasperated and angry. Angry because it’s been more than 20 years that the inhabitants and I are fighting for an improvement and especially a securing of this departmental road where each day crosses on average more than 13,000 vehicles. Fatal accidents multiply. One in October 2017 and another in December in which a four-year-old girl lost her life. “
Why such a long wait?
“This portion of the departmental is part of a major improvement project launched in the 80s. The first phase of this project was the bypass of Landerneau, then the bypass of the town of Ploudaniel between 2007 and 2010. And since 2011 we wait … And yet the security of this axis was declared public utility project in 2016 by the prefect. Land acquisitions are underway but they take time … Too much time. But that’s not possible anymore. From Monday, I will ask for clarification on the calendar, to see where the project is really. “
“Almost one accident per week”
Several houses, grouped in mini-subdivision, along this accidentogenic portion. On the spot, the inhabitants present at the time of the drama are also shocked. But not surprised. “There is almost one accident a week,” says a resident. “I am angry, it’s been years that we are promised work on this departmental road. In the end, nothing is done. It’s unbearable, “ storm Gwenaëlle, another resident.
“I tried to comfort the little one”
Another resident testifies: “I was at home when I heard the collision. I then immediately rushed to the scene. I called for help and gave the first information to the doctor by phone, “he says. ” I saw that the three children, sitting in the back were unfortunately dead . ”
“The little girl in the front was conscious, she had pain in her back and was scared, so I tried to comfort her.The father was completely disoriented.It was he, while I was on the phone, who has moved his children … In those days, it’s really hard to know what to do. “
At the request of the public prosecutor of Brest, the bodies of the three deceased children were transferred to the forensic institute of the White Cavalry. According to the prosecutor’s office, “it seems that the car carrying the children was out of control before striking the vehicle that came the other way. The driver of the Nissan has been tested. Everything is negative. The father of the children will also be tested. The analyzes should be known on Tuesday.
