Overview
- The teenager, identified as 17-year-old Auphélie, fell from the rear platform of a parked truck and was run over during celebrations after France’s World Cup quarter-final on the night of Thursday to Friday, July 9–10.
- Police arrested the 45-year-old driver at the scene; prosecutors say he was formally indicted Saturday for involuntary manslaughter aggravated by driving while intoxicated and for failing to render aid, and he has been placed in pre-trial detention.
- The Parquet d’Avesnes-sur-Helpe reported a positive breath-alcohol screening with a level between 0.25 and 0.40 mg of alcohol per litre of exhaled air, a factor cited by prosecutors when aggravating the charges.
- Witness accounts say several people had climbed onto the truck before it moved and that the driver may have left the cabin after the fall while bystanders attempted rescue; those details are under judicial verification in the ongoing inquiry.
- The case has left the local community in shock, prompted calls from officials for safer public celebrations, and could lead to up to ten years in prison and a €150,000 fine if the driver is convicted.