“It’s not just a news item, it raises a lot of questions”: around 600 people gathered on Saturday in Lyon, in an atmosphere of sadness and indignation, for a white march in memory of the two minors killed by an ambulance on Monday while riding a scooter electric.
Iris was 15 and Warren 17 when a private ambulance going on an intervention hit them shortly following 6 p.m. on Monday at 5 quai du Maréchal-Joffre in the second arrondissement of Lyon. They were traveling on a single scooter on a lane reserved for buses and unregistered two-wheelers.
“I am upset, this event is traumatic,” told AFP Françoise, 77, who did not wish to give her last name. “This accident relaunches the debate around the sharing of traffic between cars and two-wheelers,” she continued, irises in hand distributed by the organizers of the white march whose departure was from Place Bellecour.
“There are measures to be taken, we must not wait for it to happen once more”, castigates Pascal Najar, 49, looking for a job.
At the head of the procession: friends of Iris and Warren, some in tears, others trying to contain their emotion. Behind them, 600 people, according to the prefecture, cluttered with flowers, photos of the two teenagers and balloons which will be released into the sky once they arrive at the scene of the tragedy.
Some cannot hide their anger. the ambulance driver, accustomed to traffic offences, was in possession of a probationary license at 2 of 8 points following a suspension. He was put on trial and placed under judicial control on Wednesday “with in particular the prohibition to drive any motorized land vehicle”, according to the prosecution.
“It revolts me, I wonder why someone who is on the road all day might only have two points left on their license and continue to practice,” scolded Christelle L., a hospital service agent from 52 years old, clinging to a bouquet of white roses.
Recalling having established in March a speed limit of 30 km/h in Lyonthe mayor of the city, Grégory Doucet for his part affirmed on France Info reflect on “specific measures that might be taken to avoid this kind of misfortune in the future”.
For Jacques Senges, 80, a retiree living near the scene of the tragedy “everyone drives too fast in Lyon and there are more and more accidents”. Since 2019 (excluding 2022), there have been 13 fatal accidents involving two-wheeled vehicles in the department (10 bicycles, 2 electrically assisted bicycles and 1 electric scooter), the prefecture of Rhone.
