She knocks down three cyclists in Rouen, one of them fatally, then flees: the driver was found and taken into custody

La femme avait des armes de catégories C et D dans son véhicule. ENVATO ELEMENTS

This Tuesday, January 14, a van hit three cyclists early in the morning in Rouen, one of whom died during the day. The driver who had fled at the time of the incident was arrested in the morning and taken into custody. An investigation has been opened for "murder" and "attempted murder".

She had weapons in her vehicle and was making incoherent remarks: a motorist was taken into custody after hitting several cyclists in Rouen on Tuesday, killing one of them, and she must undergo a psychiatric assessment.

The driver, who committed a hit-and-run, was arrested in Buchy, around thirty kilometres north of Rouen, and taken into custody after hitting three cyclists in the city centre, said Rouen public prosecutor Sébastien Gallois. The third victim, in a coma, died “in the middle of the day”, according to Mr. Gallois.

Intoxicated

The woman driving the van, born in 1977, was not intoxicated at the time of her arrest but made “incoherent remarks without ideological connotation or religious”and reported “suicidal intentions” during her police custody, according to the prosecution.

Tests to determine possible drug use must be conducted. A psychiatric assessment will be carried out in a “short time” on this driver unknown to the police.

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Four category C weapons (firearms requiring a permit) or D weapons (which can be purchased and held freely under certain conditions, for example tear gas or collector's weapons) were found in the vehicle, the prosecutor explained without giving further details. The magistrate stressed that “it was his employer, noticing his departure with the vehicle shortly before the events”, who raised the alarm.

“Absolute terror”

“At 8:45 a.m., a utility vehicle hit a cyclist from behind on Rue de la République”, Mr. Gallois said, “then further on two others on the Teor lane (Rouen metropolitan area bus, Editor's note) on Rue Alsace-Lorraine in Rouen”.

This street in the hyper-centre of Rouen is two-way for Teor buses but one-way in a single lane for cars and bicycles. Municipal police officers then pursued the vehicle, then the gendarmes, “in telephone contact with the driver, took over”, the prosecutor recalled.

The Rouen judicial police (PJ), in charge of the investigation opened for murder, attempted murder, aggravated refusal to comply, irregular transportation of weapons, must still hear “numerous witnesses” and use the video surveillance tapes.

“A gathering of around ten passers-by”

At least three other people, “a cyclist, a pedestrian and a driver, as well as municipal police officers” were “endangered” during the chase between the police and the driver.

A local resident interviewed by AFP said he heard “loud screams coming from Rue Alsace-Lorraine” and saw “a crowd of about ten passers-by gathered around an unconscious person on the ground” next to a bicycle. This witness saw police cars arriving “from every street corner and leaving at full speed, in a chase scene”, before the emergency services arrived.

The mayor (PS) of Rouen, Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, expressed on the social network X a “absolute horror” and thanked the emergency services.