According to reports, at around 11:00 local time on July 26, a serious accident occurred during a car rally in the city of Ambert, in the Dome Mountains Province, Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region, France.A car lost control and ran off the track, killing three spectators.
According to reports, the car involved was a modified Citroën 208. The driver was a 22-year-old young woman, and the navigator was her 51-year-old mother. Both were sent to the hospital. The driver suffered injuries to his shoulder and wrist, but neither was life-threatening. The accident resulted in the death of two spectators on the spot, and another male spectator also died after being taken to the hospital.
Witnesses at the scene said that the car suddenly lost control when passing through a straight section, rolled continuously, rushed towards the audience, and finally plunged into the cornfield beside the road.
After the accident, event organizers stopped the competition and evacuated participants and spectators. Maturan, the governor of Dom Mountain Province, rushed to the scene immediately, and dozens of firefighters and police were rushed to the scene to participate in rescue and order maintenance.
The prosecutor has opened a case for manslaughter and will conduct alcohol and toxicology tests on the driver and co-driver, as well as analyze the vehicle modifications.However, the specific reason why the car lost control is still unclear.
France's 24-hour news channel reported that preliminary investigation results showed that the three victims may have been in a restricted area for spectators stipulated by the event. The area had been clearly marked with warning tapes and signboards.
According to the safety regulations of the event, safety cars will be arranged to inspect before the start of each stage to ensure that there are no spectators in the penalty area.
In addition, it is worth noting that this is the second consecutive year that a fatal accident has occurred in this event.