What purpose will the appeal trial of the Millas tragedy where six children died be used?

The appeal trial for the Millas tragedy opens this Monday afternoon in Aix-en-Provence and is due to end on October 25. On December 14, 2017, six college students died in the accident of this coach, hit by a TER in Millas, a town in the Pyrénées-Orientales located around fifteen kilometers from Perpignan. Seventeen other children were injured, eight of them very seriously. The driver of the bus, Nadine Oliveira, was sentenced at first instance to five years in prison, four of which were suspended, by the Marseille Criminal Court.

Were the barriers up or down?

Nadine Oliveira has sworn it from the start. The level crossing barriers were up. In the absence of these safety elements, she explains that she got involved naturally before the fatal collision. “For her, and I think we will demonstrate it, the barriers were lifted,” explains one of her two lawyers, Jean Codognes.

This line of defense has been identical since his first hearing, but it did not convince the magistrates at first instance. Several testimonies, in particular from the TER driver and a child seated in the bus, as well as expert assessments, concluded the opposite: the barriers were closed and the reports functioned normally. In 2022, she was found responsible for “a mistake of inattention and recklessness”. The court followed the prosecutor’s requisitions.

Will Nadine Oliveira be present?

Four days after the start of the debates, in Marseille, the driver was hospitalized. In tears almost continuously, she had not followed the end of her trial. She should be present at the opening of this second trial. She was examined by a doctor who declared her fit to attend. “She is combative, even if she comes out of a long psychiatric tunnel and this accident, which, seven years later, continues to haunt her,” underlines her lawyer.

The first trial took place in Marseille. The Bouches-du-Rhône prefecture is one of only two cities in France, with Paris, to host a center specializing in collective accidents. Since the appeal trial can only be held in the same jurisdiction, it takes place in Aix-en-Provence. It will be broadcast in its entirety at the Perpignan courthouse.

Why this appeal trial?

When their client was convicted at first instance, the lawyers announced their intention to appeal. She is being prosecuted for involuntary manslaughter, unintentional injury resulting in an ITT of more than three months and unintentional injury resulting in an ITT of more than three months. She faces a sentence of five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros.

Our file on the Millas drama

The first interrogation of the defendant is scheduled for Tuesday. The first direct witnesses will be called on Wednesday, including new witnesses called by the defense. On Thursday, it is the legal experts who will be heard by the judges, then on Monday the 14th, the legal experts in accidentology. The railway legal and accident experts will be heard for their part on October 21.

There are 123 civil parties, most of whom do not understand its usefulness. “The first trial allowed us to move forward on a lot of things, and my clients came away relieved. But they don’t expect much from the appeal trial,” underlines Eric Moutet, lawyer for the parents of Teddy, who died in this accident. “This woman took the minimum sentence. She will never go to prison. He just had his heavy goods vehicle license revoked. In five years, she will be able to get it back. What did she lose? I lost a child. I took life imprisonment,” Fabien Bourgeonnier, Loïc’s father, who died in the accident, explains to France 3.