Couple spared jail over drink-drive guest
A French couple taken to court for failing to stop a drunken friend driving his car – killing himself and four others – were freed by a judge today.
The verdict followed a plea from the trial’s public prosecutor, as well as the defence, not to punish Jean-Sebastian and Angelique Fraisse for the actions of another person.
If the couple had been found guilty, the landmark case would have triggered new responsibilities on French individuals, in addition to existing French law which makes bar owners potentially liable if their customers drive away drunk.
But the case, which has split French opinion, revealed a lack of judicial enthusiasm to add new burdens of responsibility on citizens.
The prosecution, in Nancy, France, had been triggered by relatives of the victims of the drunken crash caused by 29-year-old Frederic Colin when he left a party at the Fraisse home and hit another car.
