Two men are on trial from this Friday before the Pau Assize Court for their involvement in the death of a bus driver in Bayonne in July 2020. They are accused of having given him blows which led to his death .
The trial of two 25-year-old men involved in the death of a bus driver in Bayonne in 2020 opens this Friday, September 15 in Pau, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. They are appearing before the Pau Assize Court for “intentional violence leading to death without intention of inflicting death on an agent of a public passenger transport network operator in the exercise of or as a result of his duties”. Their trial is expected to last five days. If they repeat the offense, both men could face life imprisonment. A third person is also on trial in this trial for providing accommodation to the bus driver’s alleged attackers.
Wyssem M. and Maxime G. are on trial for having beaten Philippe Monguillot, a Bayonne trambus driver, on July 5, 2020. In a state of brain death, the driver then remained in a coma for five days before dying at the hospital. age 58. A highly anticipated trial for his family, three years after the events. “For my daughters, for myself, it’s three years of loss, three years of absence. I can’t grieve for the moment. I can only begin it thanks to justice.” testified Véronique Monguillot, the bereaved wife of the driver, on RMC.
Before the tragedy, a first clash
As recalled BFMTV, the fight which led to the death of Philippe Monguillot was preceded by a first altercation between the driver and the two accused. On July 5, 2020, early in the afternoon, Wyssem M. and Maxime G. boarded the trambus driven by the driver. Philippe Monguillot then quickly gets out of his driving position and walks towards the two young men, installed in the back of the vehicle.
“We see Philippe Monguillot on the video surveillance images interposing between these two individuals without a ticket and without a mask,” says Me Alexandre Novion, the lawyer for the driver’s family, contacted by franceinfo. At his request, the two men agree to buy a ticket. “The images do not show any aggressiveness on either side,” indicate the investigators, whose comments are reported by BFMTV. But for Me Alexandre Novion, “this first confrontation leaves its mark”. The news channel also indicates that a witness reported “insolent, outrageous words” uttered by the two men against Philippe Monguillot.
A deadly fight
The tragedy will occur a few hours later, a little after 7 p.m. Wyssem M. and Maxime G. then boarded Philippe Monguillot’s bus a second time, accompanied by two other people, as indicated franceinfo. They are installed at the bottom of the vehicle. The driver then stops his bus and walks towards them. He asks them to come down because they are still not wearing masks. The Covid-19 epidemic is in full swing in France. The four individuals then appear threatening towards Philippe Monguillot. According to the investigators’ report, relayed by franceinfothe bus driver then delivered a “violent headbutt” to Wyssem M. A fight broke out between Philippe Monguillot and the two accused.
The two men then push the driver out of his vehicle, then kick him in the stomach and face, reports BFMTV. Philippe Monguillot, however, manages to get up and tries to get into the bus. Wyssem M. then punched him violently. It was then that the driver fell “heavily to the ground, hitting it with the back of the head”, indicates the investigators’ report. It was this last blow that placed him in a coma, and which led to his death five days later, on July 10, 2020.