Two young men riding a scooter died in Limoges (Haute-Vienne) after hitting a vehicle following a refusal to comply on the night of Saturday August 5 to Sunday August 6, Agence France-Presse learned ( AFP) from police sources.
According to the version of the facts given by the police, the two-wheeler would have fled at the sight of a vehicle of the anti-crime brigade (BAC) which was about to check it. A chase would have started, before the police gave up, “deeming the situation too dangerous”. The scooter, a powerful Yamaha T-Max, then reportedly ran a red light and crashed into a third-party vehicle, instantly killing the 16-year-old minor riding the two-wheeler. His passenger, an adult, died in hospital.
According to the town hall of Limoges, the car hit had on board a father and his young children, who are “shocked and traumatized”. “We saw the two young people on the ground who were no longer moving, the very damaged scooter and the very damaged vehicle of the father with his two children. We wonder how they got nothing,” said a neighbor.
A relative of the victims, interviewed by AFP, clarified that the driver was from the Beaubreuil district, where he would have had “some problems with the police”. “He probably got scared because his T-Max wasn’t in order, he didn’t have the papers,” he added.
The Haute-Vienne prefecture did not wish to comment, referring to the Limoges prosecutor’s office, which must communicate on the case during the day.
Burned vehicles
According to the news site Actu17, “urban violence” took place in Limoges after this accident, “but calm quickly returned”. For its part, AFP reported scuffles, with burned vehicles, which were quickly brought under control.
“Grief expressed in anger cannot justify any violence. No amount of violence will bring these two boys back to life,” Limoges mayor Emile Roger Lombertie said in a statement. “Soothing and contemplation are necessary to accompany families and friends in their grief,” he added.
This drama took place a little over a month after the death of Nahel M., 17, killed by a police officer on June 27 in Nanterre, after refusing to comply. His death sparked several nights of urban violence across the country. They were marked by clashes between rioters and law enforcement, scenes of looting, firing of fireworks at public buildings and fires.
Two weeks earlier, in Angoulême, Alhoussein Camara, a 19-year-old Guinean, had been killed by the shooting of a policeman during a traffic check.
