Who could have stretched a steel cable on a municipal road in Lamothe-Capdeville, near Montauban, endangering the life of a 43-year-old mountain biker? The victim, collarbone and ribs broken following his fall, testifies, in a context which sees this kind of malicious acts targeting recreational sports practitioners multiply in France.
“I’ve had to take this path more than 70 times and I’ve never had any problems. The 71st was painful for Frédéric (1). This 43-year-old teacher from Montauban was the victim of a terrible act of malevolence while riding his mountain bike in the town of Lamothe-Capdeville, north of Montauban: a steel cable stretched between a tree and a fence at the exit of a bend caused him to fall heavily.
Frédéric says: “I was coming from the Côte de Mirabel and I was going down this municipal road which connects the PR1 and PR2. I was driving at 42 km/h when suddenly, I felt a violent impact on my cheek. I didn’t immediately understand what was happening, I was already on the ground. It was only a few seconds later that I saw this steel cable. He was tied to a fence on one side and a tree on the other. Placing it in this corner exit is really vicious. It was impossible for me to see this cable and avoid it. »
If the impact of the cable had been in the throat, how would I have escaped?
Stunned, the Montalbanais still manages to get up and, year in, year out, manages to return to his home… without yet knowing that he had a broken collarbone and several cracked ribs. “At home, I started to have more and more pain and I had muscle aches all over. So I decided to go to the Montauban hospital. The medical examinations will reveal the extent of the injuries of Frédéric, who has been prescribed a work stoppage of 6 weeks. “I tell myself that I escaped the worst. If the impact of the cable had been in the throat, how would I have escaped? »
The steel cable, placed at the exit of a bend, was impossible to see for the cyclist, launched at 42 km/h.
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These facts date back to Wednesday, September 29, chemin des Martelles, but if Frédéric decided to file a complaint on October 6, then to alert the press, it was because he wanted to “warn cyclists” against this danger. potential… especially since one of her colleagues almost experienced the same misadventure in Lauzerte the following week. “She was riding on a flat portion. She saw a cable blocking the way and was able to avoid it. »
In France, similar cases targeting cyclists or joggers (with barbed wire strung across their path) have erupted in recent months. “I saw a report on TV recently but I didn’t think it would happen in Lamothe-Capdeville,” reacts Mayor Alain Gabach. One of his municipal councillors, who happens to be a colleague of the victim, went there the day of the accident to ascertain the facts and convince Frédéric to file a complaint. “I went to make a statement at the Montauban police station and I was told that the procedure would be passed on to the gendarmerie (Editor’s note: Lamothe-Capdeville is in the gendarmerie zone). »
The facts occurred in this downhill portion of Chemin des Martelles, in Lamothe-Capdeville. The gendarmes had already intervened in this sector following nuisance caused by motorcycles and quads.
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Were bikers and quad riders accustomed to this path targeted?
If identified, whoever laid that steel cable is at serious risk. The Montauban Criminal Court could prosecute him for “endangering others by a legal person with immediate risk of death or infirmity by manifestly deliberate violation of an obligation of security or prudence”, the cable being considered in the law penal as “a weapon by destination”.
Frédéric may have been a collateral victim of an act aimed more at motorcyclists. “I had been informed some time ago of nuisance caused by motorbikes and quads. Neighbors were exasperated. The gendarmes intervened. They found that the troublemakers, registered in 31, parked their vehicle in Cos and then went down this path with their motorized vehicle, ”says the mayor of Lamothe-Capdeville. Frédéric’s serious accident therefore increases the litigation on this not so peaceful country lane.
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