BELLEVUE, Saint-Martin:--- A driving instructor was killed and two women were seriously injured in a violent head-on collision Thursday afternoon on the RN7 in Bellevue, near the French-Dutch border.
Emergency services were alerted shortly after 3:15 p.m. following reports of a serious traffic accident on the RN7 in the Bellevue area, close to the border between the French and Dutch sides of the island.
According to initial information, the collision involved a driving school vehicle and a passenger car. The impact was described as particularly violent, prompting a rapid response from firefighters, emergency medical personnel, law enforcement officers, and police from the Dutch side of the island.
The crash claimed the life of the driving instructor, a French national believed to be in his fifties. He was found in cardiac arrest when emergency responders arrived. Despite extensive resuscitation efforts by the SMUR emergency medical team, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
An 18-year-old student driver who was inside the driving school vehicle survived the collision. She remained conscious but suffered multiple traumatic injuries. After receiving emergency treatment at the scene, she was transported in serious condition to the Louis Constant Fleming Hospital.
The driver of the second vehicle, a French woman in her forties, also sustained severe multiple injuries. She was stabilized by emergency personnel before being transported to the same hospital for further treatment.
In total, ten firefighters were deployed to the scene with two ambulances and a heavy rescue vehicle. The SMUR emergency medical unit, law enforcement officers, and police from the Dutch side also responded to secure the area, assist with traffic control, and support the emergency operation.
Authorities have not yet determined what caused the collision. Investigators carried out forensic examinations at the scene and have launched an investigation to establish the circumstances that led to the two vehicles colliding head-on.
The fatal crash is the latest in a series of serious traffic accidents recorded on the island and serves as another stark reminder of the importance of road safety on both sides of St. Martin.