A tragic accident causing the death of a farmer and her daughter Details of the tragedy are beginning to emerge following the first hearings of the driver taken into custody. Pexels The driver currently in police custody admitted to having bypassed the access system to the N20, without having intended to deliberately hit the demonstrators. A tragic accident causing the death of a farmer and her daughter Details of the tragedy are beginning to emerge following the first hearings of the driver taken into custody. In a press release released this Wednesday, January 24, the Foix prosecutor, Olivier Mouysset, said more about the explanations provided by the driver of the car involved in the tragic incident that occurred Tuesday in Ariège. As a reminder, a 37-year-old farmer, Alexandra Sonac, and her 12-year-old daughter lost their lives during an agricultural union demonstration. “During their first hearings, the occupants of the vehicle causing the accident, who reside in Pamiers, confirmed that they wanted to go to one of their acquaintances, also living in Ariège,” declared the magistrate.
Despite the clear signage of the demonstration on the Nationale 20, with plots and signposts, the driver did not stop. According to Olivier Mouysset’s press release, relayed by France Bleu Occitanie, the motorist “admitted having circumvented the special safety device which blocked access to the RN20” and claimed “not to have realized in time that the presence of the black tarpaulin which covered the straw wall. However, behind this wall of straw bales was a barnum dedicated to catering to the demonstrators, where Alexandra Sonac was with her husband and their daughter. All three were hit by the car, which then ended its course against the trailer of a tractor. The driver was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the prefecture said on Tuesday. However, the accident occurred at 5:45 a.m., in the dark, which could have altered his perception, underlines the prosecution, which considers that “the facts in question do not appear to be of an intentional nature”.
The investigation, entrusted to the Pamiers police station, was opened for aggravated manslaughter and aggravated injuries. A judicial investigation should be opened in the afternoon, indicates the prosecutor. The three occupants, of Armenian nationality, are currently all being held in police custody, confirmed Olivier Mouysset. They are subject to obligations to leave French territory (OQTF) issued in 2022 and 2023, according to the magistrate. The farmer’s husband remains hospitalized, his life prognosis is no longer in jeopardy, although he remains seriously injured. As soon as his condition permits, he will be examined by a forensic doctor to determine whether he is incapacitated for work. An autopsy on the farmer’s body must be carried out this Wednesday afternoon.
