French teenager dies after police car hits scooter near Paris

A 16-year-old boy lost his life after his scooter collided with a police vehicle near Paris. The teenager was taken to Beaujon Hospital in Clichy and was in a serious condition after the accident on Wednesday evening at Elancourt in Yvelines, local media reported. The boy, however, passed away in the evening. The teenager was not named by local media. At the time of the accident, another police car was trailing the teenager, authorities said. The scooter collided with the left side of one of the police vehicles. The Versailles prosecutor’s office confirmed that both police officers operating the vehicles involved were arrested on Wednesday evening. “My colleagues shot in the area, they saw him a second time, at that time he fled again. A little further he hit a second police vehicle on an intersection,” senior police official Tony Vallee was quoted as saying by BFMTV. Two separate investigations have been initiated, with law enforcement authorities saying the tragedy stemmed from the boy’s refusal to comply. An inquiry was initially launched for “involuntary injury”, but has been reclassified as a case of “manslaughter”, local media said. Additionally, a second investigation has been initiated for “refusal to comply” and assigned to the Yvelines departmental security. Several policemen were dispatched to Elancourt later during the day as a precautionary measure in case of potential incidents or disturbances. In late June, the death of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb ignited five days of riots and looting in the area. The shooting had occurred after the 17-year-old was gunned down in his car for failing to stop. He was then allegedly caught driving through a bus lane at rush hour. Nahel’s family claimed the officer “planned” the attack “in his head”. “They took my baby,” Nahel’s mother had said in a TikTok video. “He was still a child, he needed his mother. This morning he gave me a big kiss and told me he loved me. I told him be careful and I loved him.” Read More Britain’s Olympic success will be judged on athlete happiness – not just medals – at Paris 2024 King Charles set for royal first as state visit to France is rescheduled ‘Adventurous’ 93-year-old goes ‘out in style’ as ashes scattered by drone Cricket, breakdancing, 7 other sports still waiting for word on 2028 Los Angeles Olympic status BBC’s director of sport Barbara Slater to retire after 40 years at the broadcaster Interpol at 100: A mixed legacy of hunting fugitives and merging police data from 195 countries