He had arrived in France a few months earlier, to escape the war. One evening in the summer of 2022, Yan, a 5-year-old Ukrainian child taking refuge in Nice with his mother and brother, was fatally mowed down by the driver of a scooter going at high speed on the cycle path of the Promenade des Anglais . This man, a 46-year-old Chinese national, was sentenced this Monday to three years in prison, two of which were suspended.
The Nice criminal court decided that the year of imprisonment would be to be served at home, under an electronic bracelet. The representative of the prosecution, for his part, demanded a sentence of five years in prison, including three years.
He was traveling at 53 km/h
On the evening of June 29, 2022, while returning from the beach with his family, the little boy was hit head-on at a pedestrian crossing. Unconscious, the little boy regained his senses for a few moments before falling into a coma and finally dying two hours later. Forensic medicine had noted several fractures, multiple traumas and a ruptured liver.
“I saw a woman. I didn’t see the child,” explained the defendant, acknowledging that he was driving “too fast.” Much too quickly. Expert reports made it possible to evaluate its speed at the time of impact at 53 km/h, while electric scooters must be limited to 25 km/h and the speed is limited to 20 km/h on this portion of the road. cycle path. At the hearing, he explained that he bought his second-hand scooter from a private individual, and that he did not feel like he was going faster than the others.
“I came to France to protect my son”
“This is the greatest tragedy that could happen to our two families. I am responsible for this accident, it is my fault,” he also admitted, bowing several times to the parents of the very young victim. “I came to France to protect my son,” recalled his mother.
At the request of the prosecution, the court ordered the publication of the decision at the scene of the accident, at the defendant’s expense. After the tragedy, the Nice town hall carried out new developments on the Promenade des Anglais, notably by installing several traffic lights to alternate the traffic of two-wheelers and pedestrians.