On September 22, 2019, at around 11 a.m., Blondin Lesko, an 80-year-old from Lowers, lost her life in her village. The Peugeot that her husband was driving was hit by Pierre (supposed first name), a 19-year-old driver who poorly negotiated a turn.
According to several witnesses, Pierre was racing with Clément (a pseudonym), a friend who was about ten years older than him. The two men were to respond on June 2 to the criminal court for a bad obstruction to traffic that led to the death.
In response to a question, Pierre noted: “We were following each other but not racing. I expected the role poorly and veered because I didn’t slow down enough.“The drivers were traveling in a designated 90 km/h section and were on their way to enter an urban area, and their estimated speed ranged between 70 and 80 km/h.
May Gillette, the lawyer for the bereaved family and the victim’s husband, explained:The shock was horrific. A few moments ago, the two drivers collided against 3 cyclists, at high speed according to them. All three said the drivers were racing.“
The lawyer returned to the context of this trip by car. “They celebrated the night before. The person driving the road still had 2g11 of alcohol in his blood and had used cocaine the day before. The one that hit my clients had 0.73 grams. The owner of the accident had told his friend that he was not in a condition to drive the wheel. The other encouraged him by promising that they would drive slowly. Not so. My client has lost the one who shared his daily life for 55 years, and his beloved wife was taken away from him by half.
Then Claude Lesko spoke. “We were 100 meters from the farm. The first driver hit me, 50 centimeters away, and then we hit the other one, and he came as if he was angry. However, evidence suggests that curvature is dangerous. You have to take them at 40 or 50 and they come a lot faster. Today, I find myself alone on my farm. Everyone drinks, but we don’t drive when we drink.“
Variant Gaublomme, for his part, considered that a bad snag had been set up. “Before the collision the cyclists were endangered. According to the expert, he separated the drivers at half past two, and was unconscious. It was not an accident, but rather dangerous behavior that led to an accident.“
The Namur judge demanded a 5-year prison sentence accompanied by a 5-year probationary suspension for the collision applicant. A 3-year prison sentence with a 5-year probation suspension was sought for the second year, who had already benefited from probationary suspension after being convicted of drunk driving.
This Thursday, the facts were reclassified as involuntary blows and injuries in the context of a traffic accident. The driver was sentenced to 3 years in prison, suspended for 5 years. The driver in front of him was acquitted.