Parents Decry ’Racist Justice’ After Driver Sentenced in 8-Year-Old’s Fatal Pedestrian Crossing Accident

It is "a racist justice, our son’s name is Yanis and not Yannick," denounced on Tuesday the parents of Yanis at the end of the trial on the death of their little boy near Perpignan on February 6, 2022. The Perpignan Criminal Court sentenced Marie-Christine B., 57, the driver who fatally hit the little boy, to two years in prison with probation and one year suspension of her driver’s license, reports francebleu. She was tried for involuntary manslaughter with aggravating circumstances.

In their decision, the judges ruled out speeding (50 km/h in an area posted at 30 km/h) and hit-and-run. Yanis died after being hit, but not crushed and dragged by the car, they estimated. At a previous hearing, the prosecutor had notably requested a sentence of five years in prison with probation. "We still manage to minimize the probation, deplores Yanis’ father. She should have had her license revoked for life, given her criminal driving."

Dissatisfied with the judgment, the victim’s parents intend to appeal.