French comedian Pierre Palmade, who was involved in a serious road accident while using cocaine, was arrested on Wednesday along with one of his two passengers, who were suspected of having fled.
• Also read: Traffic accident by Pierre Palmade: The comedian tested positive for cocaine
• Also read: French comedian Pierre Palmade is in critical condition
“Mr Palmade was taken into custody at 13:55” (12:55 GMT), Jean-Michel Bourlès, prosecutor for Melun (east of Paris), told AFP, without giving the location of his hearing.
According to the first findings of the investigation communicated by the judge, the vehicle driven by Pierre Palmade collided with a vehicle in front about fifty kilometers south of Paris on Friday evening for reasons that are still unclear.
Tests showed he was positive for cocaine at the time of the collision.
The 54-year-old comedian and the three occupants of the other vehicle, a man, his six-year-old child and his sister-in-law – who was six months pregnant and lost her baby – were seriously injured.
Pierre Palmade, who was hospitalized in Paris, is now out of danger.
But two of the three victims of the hit vehicle “were still in intensive care,” their lawyer, Me Mourad Battikh, told the BFMTV channel on Wednesday morning.
The driver “underwent seven surgeries” while his six-year-old son, “disfigured”, “is being tube-fed,” the lawyer explained. The third victim, a 27-year-old woman, was expecting “her first child,” “a little girl.”
The public prosecutor’s office in Melun has initiated investigations into the homicide and negligent bodily harm resulting in a total disability of more than three months by drivers under the influence of drugs.
Witnesses said they saw two men in their 20s running away from Pierre Palmade’s car after the accident.
A man suspected of being one of them has been arrested in the Paris region, police sources told us on Wednesday morning.
A woman who was hosting this 33-year-old Moroccan was also arrested at her home, one of those sources added, confirming information from Le Parisien newspaper and the LCI channel.
Additionally, the attorney for a man posing as the second fugitive called investigators to say his client was giving up, according to a source close to the file.
The actor, one of France’s most popular comedians – who has been convicted of drug use on several occasions – expressed his “shame” and was ready “to face the consequences of his actions,” his sister Hélène Palmade assured in a statement on Tuesday.
This accident brought to light the dangers linked to drugs, which are responsible for around 20% of road deaths in France each year.