The woman who is accused of causing the Tour de France crash on stage 1, when holding a sign to salute her grandparents, has been released from custody and now faces two criminal charges.
She has been described by the police as fearful of the media after the
coverage the incident has received and was also described as “psychologically
fragile”.
The 30-year-old woman lives just a few kilometres from the spot where she
is accused of causing the crash after the
Saint-Rivoal climb in Saint-Cadou.
According to reports in France today she presented
herself to the police - the Landerneau gendarmerie – with her partner on Wednesday. She said she needed
some time to digest what had happened before coming forward.
She was also held in custody overnight for two nights, which was not
expected according to the reports in France, which have also set out the
criminal charges she is now facing.
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The prosecutor’s office in Brest has confirmed she is charged with "endangering others by manifestly deliberate violation of 'a particular obligation of prudence or safety”.
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The 30-year-old is also charged with “involuntary injuries resulting in incapacity for work not exceeding three months by willful breach of a particular obligation of prudence or safety imposed by law or regulation”.
Her case will take place before the Brest Criminal Court on October 14th.
She has told police she felt "shame and fear" and was
"distressed” by the media coverage of her “stupidity", according to
the public prosecutor of Brest Camille Miansoni.
The outcome of the case would be based on the “proportion to the
seriousness of the facts and the personality of the defendant," the prosecutor
added.
The offences carry a maximum penalty of up to one year in prison and a fine
up to €15,000, though that is the very maximum that could be imposed rather
than the norm.
The woman stepped out into the road a little holding a sign that said "Go Opi-Omi!" She had her back to the riders, and was looking at the TV camera ahead of the bunch. That meant she had no warning she needed to jump back as the riders approached.
Tony Martin (Jumbo Visma) was on the front at the time and hit the woman’s
back, causing a significant crash with 45km to go.
The woman has told the police she was trying to "send a loving message
to the attention of her grandparents" as they always watched the Tour on
TV. The sign was a mix of French and German as her grandmother is from Germany.
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