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A driver reportedly lost control of a car carrying journalists along the finish straight of the Tour de France and drove into fans, injuring eight of them, on Sunday.
Less than 500 meters from the finish line in Ussel, Correze, France, the driver of a vehicle carrying journalists from the French publication L’Equipe allegedly passed out at the wheel, local authorities told Agence France-Presse.
Before colliding with fans along the Tour de France route, the vehicle abruptly drove off the road and smashed through multiple metal safety barriers. A helicopter view of the race revealed barriers pushed into the road and a car encircled by police, approximately 350 meters from the end of the stage.
Seven people suffered minor injuries, while one person sustained serious injuries that were not thought to be life-threatening. The public prosecutor’s office in Tulle has reportedly opened an investigation into the incident, and authorities have not arrested the driver.
“I heard a noise. At first, I thought it was a fallen guardrail,” one witness recalled.
“I saw people fall to the ground and get up again,” said another witness to the crash. “They were in shock. Two people were also lying on the ground.”
This is the second year in a row that a car has crashed into spectators at the Tour de France. During stage 14 of the 2025 event, an Ineos team car struck a fan standing on the right-hand side of the road of the Col du Peyresourde. Officials gave the driver a yellow card and fined him $6,235.
- DOUGLAS CHARLES
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