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Sandy MERSCH, 13 ans

Our daughter Sandy, one of our four children, was quite 13 years old when she was hurt by a speeding lorry driver and died on the 5th february 1993. This happened when she walked to the bus stop to get to school and tried to cross on a zebra crossing. Her three year elder brother Marc was with her ( they were in the same secondary school in Diekirch ) and crossed this main street just a few seconds before. The driver, 23 years old, did not care about that child severely hit and run away. This was around 7 o´ clock on a Friday morning. A day we never forget. Sandy died about three hours later from severe head injury in a hospital in Luxemburg city. My wife was´nt allowed to stay with her.
Legal response the driver was charged at the court of appeal with 5 year licence withdrawal, 3 years prison with adjournement, and 2500 ? to pay to the court. He asked to get his licence back ( in an official enquiry to the Grand-Duc ) after one year ( for professional use ) but was refused.

The story who changed our live:

When Marc, hearing the crash, terrified, hurried home, I heard my wife Maggy ask him: "what happened, where is Sandy ?" Marc answered: "she was hit by a car and lies near the zebra crossing ." I ran, so fast I never did before, to the place near the bus stop and found Sandy; blood flew out of her noose, strange noises came out of her mouth . A picture still staying in my head. I remember well that I tried to whisper in her ears: "Sandy, come on, you have to survive" Maggy joined us. The time before the ambulance arrived seemed an eternity to us. Another terrible fact was that Maggys parents were driving the ambulance just on this morning. I remember I was holding Sandys head, while the doctors tried to help her to survive. They took her to hospital, Maggy went with them in the ambulance.I stayed with our other children at home. It was a terrible moment waiting to knew if Sandy would survive. Then I got the call from my wife: "Come along and bring new clothes, I´m afraid that Sandy will die. At this moment I felt that Sandy had left us forewer, and in the hospital surrounded by the family, I saw her lying there, peacefull her face somewhat white and blue, her body was cold but she had a little smile on her lips. This picture fights against the first, bloody one, on the roadside, in my head.
At this moment I promised here to do everything which is in my possibilities, that what we lived on this 5th of february, won´t never happen to someone else.

Jeannot MERSCH

Association nationale des Victimes de la Route      354, rue de Neudorf      L - 2222 Luxembourg     tél +352 26 43 21 21     avr@pt.lu
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