2023-08-22 18:00:00
Time stopped on Monday at 2 p.m. in Wielsbeke. It is 1:45 p.m. when Inès, 15, and her mother Farah go to the bus stop. The objective is to go to town to buy a present. A few miles away, a 64-year-old man is driving a van to get to the garage.
Time stops. Chaos. The van is stopped and has a lot of damage. The bus shelter no longer exists. An unimaginable tragedy has just occurred. A 24-year-old woman screams in pain. Inès and her mother, they do not cry because their condition is much more serious. The balance sheet is ultimately even heavier. Farah is taken to hospital in critical condition for emergency surgery. His daughter will not be so lucky. Rescuers spend an hour trying to resuscitate the teenager. Without success. Inès dies on the spot.
“A call from the police”
For his part, Hugues, is not yet aware of the seriousness of the situation. “I had to go to Wallonia for three days because of work,” he told the Nieuwsblad. “I received a call from the police and they told me that there had been an accident that they mightn’t identify. I came back quickly.”
“I immediately called the school of Nina, Inès’ sister, and the director reassured me by saying that she was fine at school,” he continues. “And when I called Inès, it was the police who answered me. But I only understood when I saw the neighborhood cordoned off with police tape.
“A dynamic girl”
The driver of the van was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to the West Flanders prosecutor’s office. According to the first findings, he was not using his mobile either.
An expert has been appointed by the prosecution to investigate the circumstances of the accident.
“Inès was a dynamic young girl in her early teens,” concludes Hugues. “She had a language delay because they grew up in Algeria. She was ready for a fresh start in a new school. They were just taking the bus to Kortrijk to visit the school and buy books”.
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