Three Dutch people killed in a road accident in Aisne, an investigation opened for involuntary homicide

Three Dutch people died on Sunday in a road accident after their vehicle collided with another motorist in Aisne, said the Laon public prosecutor’s office which opened an investigation into homicide and involuntary injuries.

The accident took place shortly before 12:30 p.m. in a hamlet in the commune of Jeantes, in the north of France. A vehicle registered in the Netherlands, on board which were five Dutch nationals, “was hit in the rear driver’s side door”, while “restarting at a stop sign”, said the public prosecutor of Laon, Jean-Baptiste Miot, confirming information from the regional daily Union.

The three passengers, two men aged 58 and 74, as well as a 71-year-old woman died instantly, ejected from the passenger compartment, according to firefighters.

The driver, aged 79, suffering from “multiple trauma” was airlifted to the Reims University Hospital, detailed the prosecution, specifying that his vital prognosis was in jeopardy.

Another “unharmed” passenger

“Blood samples were taken and the results will be known in the coming weeks,” added the prosecutor. The front passenger, a visually impaired woman aged 58, was “unharmed”, he added. According to firefighters, his guide dog, which was in the trunk of the vehicle, was taken care of by emergency services and evacuated to a veterinary clinic.

In the other vehicle was an 18-year-old young man living in the town of Hirson, located about fifteen kilometers from the scene of the accident, said Jean-Baptiste Miot.

“His life is not in danger,” he said, indicating that “his license is valid and the alcohol and drug tests carried out were negative.”

The investigations, carried out by the Hirson gendarmerie, should in particular make it possible to determine “the speed at which” the young man’s vehicle was traveling, as well as a “possible refusal of priority on the part of the Dutch vehicle” and “the use or not of seat belts by the rear passengers of this vehicle”, concluded the prosecution. No police custody was in progress at the end of the day on Sunday, according to the same source.