Benjamin Roques Fatal Crash @ Rallye Terre des Cardabelles 2019

  • 6 months ago
A 19-year-old spectator Benjamin Roques was killed and six people were seriously injured on Saturday, 12 October 2019, during the Rallye Terre des Cardabelles, held in Aveyron department, southern France, when a rally car spun out of control, ending into a group of spectators standing in an area forbidden to the public.

During the opening stage of the rally, which was the fourth round of the 2019 Championnat de France de Rallye de Terre, the #6 Citroën DS3 WRC driven by Jean-Charles Beaubelique, 47, veered off the track after a jump in Camp Larzac, near the village of La Cavalerie, Aveyron. The car went airborne and rolled end-over-end towards spectators. Benjamin Roques, who came from nearby village of Firmi, died on the spot.

Six others, including the driver, suffered injuries in the accident. Amongst them, another 17-year-old boy who had to be flown by air ambulance to a hospital in Toulouse, and was listed in a critical condition. Co-driver Julien Pesenti escaped serious injury.

After the tragedy the special stage "Le Camp 1" was immediately stopped and the remainder of the rally was annulled.

Mountain bike race held in Livinhac-le-Haut a few days later, was observed a minute of silence in memory of Benjamin Roques.

R.I.P