(In)Road safety — North of the island: 2 victims, including a Dutch girl (10 years old) on vacation in Mauritius since last Monday

Christabelle Ravina (20 years old) fatally struck down by a car driven by a drug addict

The roads of the North were the scene of two fatal accidents in the space of just a few hours. Christabelle Ravina (20 years old), resident of Camp-Gervaise, in Cap-Malheureux, and Helena Wunderlich, a 10-year-old Dutch tourist, lost their lives in two separate tragedies. A young man (22 years old) has already been charged with manslaughter in the first case, while a bus driver (31 years old) is implicated in the second. The first tragedy occurred on the night of July 31 to August 1 on the coastal road from Cap-Malheureux, near Kuxville. Around 1 a.m., the police discovered a completely destroyed Aprilia scooter in the middle of the road, not far from the body of Christabelle Ravina, who was lying on the asphalt. The SAMU quickly intervened, but the victim had to be pronounced dead upon arrival at the SSRNH hospital. The first elements of the investigation revealed skid marks over a length of approximately five meters, while numerous debris were found scattered on the road. A possible case of hit-and-run was in fact considered.

Around 2:30 a.m., while carrying out a mobile patrol on the coastal road of Grand-Baie, near a nightclub, Inspector Adroit and Constable Chinien arrested a resident (22 years old) of Cap-Malheureux in the context of a case of vehicle theft reported to the police station of Saint-Pierre. Shortly after, investigators established a link between the young man and the fatal accident that had occurred earlier. The checks carried out by the investigators then allowed the viewing of images from the Safe City network, which showed the scooter driven by the victim, followed very closely by a Nissan car and which was driving at high speed. The two vehicles were dangerously taking the right lane after leaving the main street of Cap-Malheureux towards the coastal road. Another camera then filmed the Nissan leaving an NHDC parking lot at 12:41 a.m. before returning at 1:28 a.m.

Examination of the car revealed that part of the front bumper was missing and that the latter was partially detached on the right side. If the breathalyzer test carried out on the driver came back negative, however, the preliminary drug screening test would have been different. Investigators learned that the individual was also on parole in connection with a previous drug possession case.

A provisional charge of reckless manslaughter was brought against him at the Weekend Court. He was taken back to his cell before his transfer to the Piton detention center. As for Christabelle Ravina, the autopsy carried out by Dr Prem Chamane, Police Medical Officer