Renault Faces Legal Scrutiny After Fatal A7 Crash Linked to Turbo Failure

"No human error is at the origin of the tragedy," Nicolas Cellupica, the family’s lawyer, told France Info. For him, the "responsibilities of the vehicle manufacturer" are at stake. The turbo breakdown was observed after the Renault minivan had traveled "about 500 meters with a trail of white smoke." As the vehicle had no braking system, Yacine would have tried to stop before hitting the safety barrier. "What my client indicated before losing consciousness at the very beginning of the investigation corresponds perfectly to what emerged," the lawyer recalled.

The family’s counsel only wants one thing: "We must put all the cards on the table and see precisely where the problem comes from and who must be held responsible for this tragedy and this evidence." According to the investigation by the departmental road safety squadron, the vehicle’s last technical inspection would have been in May. But the State had granted an extension due to the coronavirus epidemic. In the eyes of the family’s lawyer, the inspection would not have brought any change, especially since the turbo "is not a part that is examined."

On Monday, a serious road accident had claimed the lives of five children, aged 3 to 14, from two Maghrebi families and left four seriously injured on the A7, near Albon in the Drôme. Admitted to the Edouard Herriot hospital in Lyon, the survivors are in critical condition.