They were playing tag on the esplanade. Two children were mowed down by a motorcycle on Friday August 5 at the foot of the towers in the Hauts de Marcouville district in Pontoise (Val-d’Oise). The tragedy occurred between 9:15 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. between buildings 3 and 10, in the heart of the residence. After initially fleeing, the young driver finally went to the Pontoise police station this Saturday. Aged just 18, he was taken into custody.
The inhabitants were numerous to take advantage of the summer evening at the foot of the buildings on Friday, when the drama was tied. But while the children are playing and the adults are chatting, others are taking risks by riding a motorbike within the grounds of the residence. The two victims were at the level of the basketball court when the machine struck them violently. Immediately arriving on the scene, the firefighters took care of a 10-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy. The little girl, suffering from a very serious head trauma, was transported to the Necker hospital (Paris XVe), she was in absolute emergency.
This Saturday, while she was taken care of by the medical team, her vital prognosis was still engaged.
An investigation is underway
The second victim, also very seriously injured, was first taken to the Pontoise hospital center before being finally redirected to Amiens (Somme). The boy suffers from an open fracture at the level of the tibia and the fibula. His condition seemed stabilized the day after the events.
A police investigation has been opened to determine the exact circumstances of this terrible accident. A priori, a single motorcycle would be the cause of the two shocks. The driver, a young man from the neighborhood, finally presented himself to the police on Saturday at 1:45 p.m. after fleeing with the help of other accomplices who were on the slab at the time. His custody could last 48 hours.
In the district of Marcouville, the whole population is in shock. On social networks, we share his emotion. “It’s so sad”, repeat the inhabitants. The city, in partnership with the Pontoise hospital, set up a psychological medical emergency unit this Saturday. The children and families who need support were received by professionals at the La Baleine neighborhood center from 3:30 p.m. “There is no anger, but consternation”, notes Anne Fromenteil, the deputy mayor present on the scene.
Urban rodeos are unfortunately, here as in other urban neighborhoods, a recurring phenomenon when the good weather returns. “That’s why especially in spring or summer, I almost never walked with my little one, I was afraid of all that, one day it was bound to happen…”, testifies a father.
This Friday evening before the tragedy, the police had not been called by residents who heard the noise of the engines. But this kind of intervention is recurrent during the summer. “We are very involved in the fight against rodeos”, we explain to the departmental directorate of public security. “As soon as we have reports, we send staff. “Since the beginning of April, 534 interventions of this type have been triggered in the department. At the same time, the agents made 37 arrests and 34 seizures of motorcycles. This is small compared to the number of trips. “But at least our arrival, if it does not always lead to a seizure, helps to put an end to the phenomenon”, point out the police. Every weekend, from spring until autumn, the police carry out prevention and deterrence operations. This Saturday, they were in Sarcelles and Argenteuil to identify two-wheelers with dangerous behavior in the neighborhoods. This Sunday, the towns of Sannois and Cergy-Saint-Christophe were to be targeted.
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