Traffic is still suspended this Saturday afternoon on the A11 between Le Mans and Nantes. Around 3:45 a.m., on the night of Friday to this Saturday, after the Angers-Est interchange, “a contraflow passenger vehicle struck a heavy goods vehicle carrying various packages. The driver died and the driver of the heavy goods vehicle was hospitalized in relative emergency, ”said the Codis du Maine-et-Loire.
Around 10 a.m., “all the vehicles stuck by the accident were evacuated by the teams from Vinci Autoroute and the gendarmes”, indicated the communication from Vinci Autoroute to AFP, specifying that the truck was transporting packages of electronic components. “During the extinction of the fire, two firefighters were injured in the face and were transported to the CHU and left,” reports the Codis.
“Unacceptable behavior” of motorists
But the rescue operations were disrupted by the behavior of some stranded motorists. On Twitter, the president of the Maine-et-Loire departmental council Florence Dabin (various right) spoke of “unacceptable behavior” by motorists. “2 firefighters injured in intervention, following an explosion, on the A11. I express my support for them and wish them a good recovery. Vehicles put them in danger by not slowing down despite the indications. Light will be shed on these unacceptable behaviors, ”responded the elected official on the social network.
2 firefighters injured in response to an explosion on the A11. I express my support for them and wish them a good recovery. Vehicles put them in danger by not slowing down despite the indications. Light will be shed on these unacceptable behaviors. pic.twitter.com/ynRbnAcYYS
—Florence Dabin (@FlorenceDabin) January 15, 2022
The fire extinguished, traffic will not resume immediately. “There are packages burned on the road, they must be evacuated, at the same time the road must be cleaned, there should be asphalt to be redone,” said Vinci. The highway could reopen in the afternoon on one lane, according to the same source.