An investigation has been launched by the police to shed light on the circumstances of a terrible road accident in which 7 people died and 2 were seriously injured. According to initial findings, the vehicle carrying 5 young people was travelling at excessive speed

The tragedy occurred in the early evening of Tuesday 18 June, at around 7pm, on the RD921 at Bailleau-le-Pin near Chartres, in the Eure-et-Loir département. A vehicle travelling from Illiers-Combray towards Chartres with 5 young people on board skidded off the road on a bend. It then collided head-on with an oncoming vehicle. After the impact, the first vehicle rolled over before colliding violently with a third vehicle containing 2 people. Unfortunately, the 5 young occupants of the first vehicle, which caught fire as a result of the pile-up, died on the spot.

The Prefecture announced the closure of the road in both directions to allow emergency services to intervene. An investigation into manslaughter and unintentional injury has been handed over to the gendarmerie.

The 5 victims aged between 17 and 19 in the first vehicle perished in the fire. A very elderly couple aged 90 and 85, who were in the second vehicle hit, also did not survive. In the third vehicle involved, a 21-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman were seriously injured and taken to hospital

According to an eyewitness, the car carrying the 5 young people was indeed travelling at a speed that was very excessive for the circumstances. The prosecutor confirmed that this inappropriate speed was the main cause of the accident, despite the dry road. He also pointed out that the rear passengers were not wearing seatbelts, making it difficult to identify them.

This tragedy has deeply shocked and saddened the region, with all the victims coming from the Chartres area, from villages 10 to 15 km apart. The mayor of one of the villages affected has expressed his immense sadness and helplessness in the face of such a tragedy to a family that has lost its only son.