The school bus had hit a train in Millas, in the Eastern Pyrenees. The accident caused the deaths of 6 university students on December 24, 2017. The trial against the driver for murder and involuntary injury will last three weeks.
Five years after the tragedy, he is a court case non-standard which will open in a week, on 19 September 2022 in Marseille where it will continue until 7 October. Driver Nadine Oliviera, 52, is on trial for six murders but also for having inadvertently injured seventeen other young passengers aboard the school bus, resulting in a total interruption of work ranging from two to 180 days.
The trial takes place in the city of Marseille because it is one of only two centers in France that specialize in collective injuries.
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Since 1 January 2015, two judicial centers specialized in this type of incidents have been created within the Intermediate Courts (TGI) of Marseille and Paris, to allow, according to the Ministry of Justice “take charge of investigations more effectively”.
The hearings will be transmitted in full to Perpignan to allow the 130 civil parties to follow this process. The Rubis room of the congress center, equipped with several screens, can accommodate 200 people, with priority given to the civil parties. A room will also be reserved for them, should they need to isolate themselves or consult their lawyer.
“With the France Victims 66 association we have planned psychological support in Perpignan and Marseille with the support of two lawyers and two psychologists with the possibility of extracting the victims if necessary as soon as possible”, explains Pierre Viard, President of the Court.
magistracy of Marseille. “There will also be dogs to soothe and de-stress the victims” adds Marie Guillaume, director ofMarseille Association for Aid to Victims of Crime (Avad)
Specialized courts
The preliminary investigations and judicial investigations into the counts of homicides or accidental injuries in cases involving a plurality of victims have since 1 January 2015 exclusively entrusted to the tribunals de grande instance of Paris and Marseille.
The Tribunal de Grande Instance of Marseille is competent for all collective incidents occurring within the jurisdiction of the Courts of Appeal of Aix-en-Provence, Bastia, Chambéry, Grenoble, Lyon, Nîmes and Montpellier. That of Paris for accidents in the rest of France, even abroad.
At the end of an investigation conducted at the court of Marseille, the driver is accused “not paying attention to the closed nature of the level crossing and forcing the semi-barrier to close when a train was approaching to express regional”. The driver who used this trip disputes these findings.
He claims that the barriers were raised and that he would never cross a lowered barrier.
I jean Codognès
Bus driver lawyer
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This was stated in February by Me Jean Codognès, the driver’s lawyer, when he announced his referral to the criminal court.
Nadine Oliviera, who her defenders have described as still ravaged by the drama, will also benefit from the assistance of a psychologist. “It’s a very painful business for everyone” he then observed the president of the court Céline Ballerini.
A painful case that the Marseille judges will examine for three weeks. They hope to make their resolution before the anniversary date of the disaster.
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