Two people including a teenage girl have died and one person is seriously injured after a car driven by an Armenian migrant drove through a farmers’ road blockade and hit protesters in Ariège, France, on Tuesday morning.
The incident occurred at approximately 5:30 a.m. on RD 119 when a vehicle with three occupants crashed into a haystack barricade constructed by agricultural campaigners, leading to the death of 37-year-old Alexandra Sonac and the hospitalization of her husband and teenage daughter — the latter of which sadly died later in hospital.
“A car with three occupants on board crossed a roadblock to gain access to the national road 20. The vehicle came from Toulouse and was traveling in the direction of Andorra. It hit the system put in place by the farmers,” local police confirmed to France 3 Occitanie.
“They passed at breakneck speed, on the shoulders, avoiding the roadblocks,” said Sébastien Durand, vice-president of the Fdsea of Ariège, the local agricultural union.
Emergency responders, including 35 firefighters and 13 police officers, were swiftly dispatched to the scene.
An investigation is underway to ascertain the nature of the incident, although Foix public prosecutor’s office announced it was exploring a charge of involuntary manslaughter.
“When the car entered the 2X2 lanes, it had knowingly crossed an access barrier device, with very well materialized visual signage, there was no doubt that the lane was closed,” the office stated.
“The occupants were neither under the influence of alcohol nor drugs and are unknown to the courts. Two of them are hospitalized,” it added.
The straw wall had been covered by a large black tarpaulin that may have hindered the driver’s visibility at that time of day, and the protesters were eating their breakfast behind the barricade.
French media has reported the occupants of the vehicle were of Armenian origin and their immigration status is being checked.
“If it turns out that they are in an irregular situation, and depending on what the courts decide, if the courts release them, they will be placed in administrative detention,” the authorities added.
