ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP via Getty Images
- A woman who caused a huge crash at the Tour de France faces an October trial, local prosecutor says.
- The woman has been charged with reckless endangerment and involuntarily causing injuries, the NYT reports.
- A prison sentence is thought to be unlikely, but she could face a fine of up to $18,000.
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The spectator who caused a huge crash on the first day of the Tour de France has been charged with "reckless endangerment and involuntarily causing injuries," according to a local prosecutor cited by the New York Times.
Camille Miansoni, the prosecutor in Brest, where the crash took place, said the spectator will be tried by a criminal court on October 14, both the Times and the AFP reported.
"She expressed a feeling of shame, of fear for the consequences of her actions," said Miansoni of the woman at a Thursday news conference.
"She said she is worried about the media attention for what she has called her 'stupidity'," Miansoni added.
The woman has not been named publicly, but is believed to be 30-years-old and from close to the city of Brest.
She caused the crash when she held up a sign wishing luck to her grandparents, who Miansoni described as "unconditional, assiduous fans of the Tour de France," according to the Times.
German cyclist Tony Martin of the Jumbo-Visma team collided with the sign, falling and starting a chain reaction which saw dozens of riders fall from their bikes.
-NBC Sports (@NBCSports) June 26, 2021
Many riders suffered injuries and one, Germany's Jasha Sütterlin, was forced to withdraw at the site of the crash.
If found guilty, the woman faces a maximum fine of $18,000 and a possible year in prison, although jail time is thought to be unlikely as the woman has no criminal record, the Times reported.
On Thursday, the Tour de France organizer stated they had dropped their plans to sue the spectator.
"The incident has been blown out of all proportion so we'd like to calm things down now that the message has got across that the roadside fans need to be careful." said the race's director Christian Prudhomme.
The woman turned herself in on Wednesday.
Miansoni said the police had identified her and were planning to arrest her before she and her partner showed up at a local police station.
"She needed that time to process, in a way, what had happened to her," said Miansoni.