Fatal accident on the M3 motorway in 2017: taxi driver sentenced to six months in prison

Nine years after the accident which cost the lives of two British tourists on the M3 motorway, a taxi driver has been sentenced to six months in prison. He appealed the judgment.

Nine years after the accident which cost the lives of the British couple George Hugh Vaughan, aged 57, and Elizabeth Marie Vaughan, 46, on May 1, 2017 on the M3 motorway, in Notre-Dame, Sanawaz Oozeerkhan, a 53-year-old taxi driver, was sentenced, on July 1, 2026, to six months' imprisonment for reckless manslaughter, before the court intermediate. In addition, the fifty-year-old's driving license was suspended for two years. He will also have to complete a rehabilitation course before he can get his license again. Living in Grand-Baie, he appealed this decision.

In this case, the taxi driver was prosecuted for recklessly causing the deaths of George Hugh Vaughan and Elizabeth Marie Vaughan, who were passengers in his vehicle. The accident occurred on May 1, 2017 on the M3 motorway, in Notre-Dame. At his trial, he pleaded not guilty. On May 28, 2026, magistrate Prithiviraj Balluck found him guilty, after examining the testimonies and evidence produced before the court.

On the day of the accident, Sanawaz Oozeerkhan was transporting the British couple when he lost control of his vehicle on a descent located after the Crève-Cœur roundabout. The vehicle hit the guardrails before overturning onto the central reservation. Both passengers died from multiple injuries.

In his judgment, the magistrate noted that the weather conditions were particularly difficult, with more than 100 mm of rain falling in the region and greatly reduced visibility.

The magistrate also noted several contradictions between the taxi driver's statements to the police and his testimony before the court, in particular concerning the presence of a significant accumulation of water on the road, the speed at which he was traveling, the exact location where he lost control of his vehicle and the circumstances of the accident. According to the magistrate, a reasonable driver would have considerably reduced his speed, or even immobilized his vehicle if the traffic conditions required it.

He also took into consideration the fact that the taxi driver had no criminal record and that he had apologized following the accident. The fifty-year-old also explained that he had been morally affected by this tragedy for nine years and that he had had to appear in court numerous times. He also claimed that he was the sole financial support of his family.

The magistrate, however, emphasized that Sanawaz Oozeerkhan had twenty-eight years of experience as a professional driver. “Accused (Editor’s note: Sanawaz Oozeerkhan), professional driver, being a