The driver of a high-speed train surprisingly committed suicide by jumping off the train in the middle of the train, which was still running

On December 24, local time, the driver of a high-speed train in France committed suicide by jumping out of the train while it was running at full speed, causing the train to travel unmanned for about 3 kilometers at 300 kilometers per hour before coming to a stop due to the automatic braking system. The train was reportedly traveling from the Lyon station in Paris to St. Etienne in the southeast with about 400 passengers on board.

According to French newspaper Le Monde, France’s new Transportation Minister Philippe Tabarrot said on the 26th that a TGV high-speed rail passenger train was moving when the driver jumped off the train, the incident “is above all a human tragedy”, the deceased was a senior driver who was highly admired among his colleagues. Tabarro said the French national railroad company (SNCF) and the government offered condolences to the family of the deceased and would do all they could to help them.

Tabarro said it was the first time in the history of the French national railroad company that a driver jumped from a high-speed train. He said, “The driver wanted to end his life by acting alone. If he had intended to derail the train, the consequences could have been much more serious.”

The train involved in the accident was reportedly equipped with an emergency automatic braking system that detects every 30 seconds if the driver is operating the vehicle, otherwise the system triggers the emergency brake. About half a minute after the driver jumped out of the car, that automatic braking system kicked in and the speeding train came to a halt, having already traveled nearly three kilometers.Fifteen minutes later, the ticket inspector found a way to force open the driver’s door from the outside and found it empty.

For more than two hours afterward, rescuers who arrived searched the neighborhood and eventually found the driver’s body by drone, about 2.5 kilometers from where the train stopped.

The driver, 52-year-old Bruno Reggioni, is believed to have chosen to end his life for personal reasons, according to French newspaper Le Progress. His friends revealed that Reggioni was the father of an autistic child who had been hospitalized several times for the condition. Before his death, Reggioni expressed depressed feelings such as “helplessness”.

In his last social media post, Reggioni wrote: “After my latest hospitalization, which was supposed to give me a little break, I kept coming to a standstill. Some people understand me, others don’t …… The most important thing is to be surrounded by people who truly love you in these moments, even if it’s just this little bit of support.”

A spokesman for the French national railroad company said it was the first time “ever” that a TGV driver had chosen to take his own life. The rail union said the whole union was “deeply saddened” at this time and accused some of making false claims that “passengers are at risk”. The regional management of the French national railroad company announced that it was opening an internal investigation to consider strengthening psychological counseling services for railroad employees.

The accident reportedly caused about 10 trains to be delayed, affecting more than 3,000 passengers, some of whom were delayed for up to five hours. According to AFP, the French national railroad company has decided to compensate affected passengers with refunds ranging from 25% to 100% of the ticket price, depending on the circumstances.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)