“At one point, I thought I was going to die but I hung on and thought of my grandchildren. “Still recovering, Odette, 76, tells this Thursday at Nice morning his infernal journey of July 22. That afternoon, the retiree from the Côte d’Azur traveled more than 4 km on the footboard of the Pignes train, which winds through the valleys of the Alpes-Maritimes and the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, one arm stuck in an automatic door. .
Seriously injured in the legs by the obstacles she encountered along the rails, the septuagenarian is continuing treatment at the hospital and rehabilitation sessions to be able to walk again. Operated for an open tibia fibula fracture on the left and a fracture of the malleolus in the right ankle, she says she “was afraid of being amputated”.
The controller “completely forgot about me”
But then what happened that day? Boarded the train in Nice, she was to reach Saint-Martin-du-Var, four stops further. Fragile and traveling with a crutch after having already broken her elbow in 2021, the grandmother said she asked the controller during the trip to help her leave the wagon. “He completely forgot about me. A young person with headphones, whom I asked, did not hear me. Suddenly, I started to go down as much as I could. The automatic doors closed on my right arm, the trolley stayed inside and the train started, ”she explains to the regional daily.
The train will finally stop more than 4 km further on, just before Plan-du-Var station. Why so long after? Is there a technical failure? What are the responsibilities? An investigation is still ongoing.