Overview

• The crash occurred before 5 a.m. on July 3 in Gourdon when a car carrying five minors veered off the road, plunged down an embankment and struck a tree.
• A 13-year-old passenger was confirmed dead while the 15-year-old driver and three other youths aged 13 to 15 were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
• Police maintained distant surveillance after the vehicle allegedly refused to stop for a routine control, losing sight of it just before the accident.
• The car, owned by the parent of one of the adolescents, was driven without any adults on board, prompting questions about parental supervision of minors’ access to vehicles.
• The Parquet de Chalon-sur-Saône and the Brigade de Recherches de Mâcon have opened a judicial inquiry to determine how pursuit policies shaped the circumstances of the crash.