On the 14th of September 1906, at about 8am, Mr. Lespinasse left his home in order to go to mass in Carmes church. While Mr. Lespinasse was crossing the road, a car with three tourists arrived from Arpajon. The driver beeped and tried to slow down his car. But, instead of stopping, he accelerated! Bystanders cried: “Stop him! Murderer!” Some people ran to the car, but it was useless because they couldn’t stop it. Mr. Lespinasse, in his eighties, being deaf, didn’t notice the car. The poor man died two hours after the accident.
The investigation allowed the authorities to find the guilty hit-and-run driver (a term which didn’t exist at the time). He was Baptiste Tixier, 33, from Rodez, a mechanic. But he didn’t confess that he had killed Mr. Lespinasse. According to him, the old man died because he fell. The autopsy, by doctor Cazals, showed that the victim died because of nine fractures and a crack in his skull. The driver and his car were undeniably the cause of the death of Mr. Lespinasse.
On the 17th of November 1906, Mr. Tixier went to court. He admitted that his car was going too fast, but he didn’t know that Mr. Lespinass was totally deaf. As the automobile was a new invention, the judge decided to release the guilty person.
This accident was the first mortal car accident in the Cantal…
Article by Thibault P.
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