A 30-year-old woman who caused a mass pile-up at the Tour de France at the weekend was released from police custody on Friday but ordered to appear in court in October.
The woman, who has not been named, was arrested this week and questioned over the crash caused by her large cardboard sign during the first stage of the race in northwestern Brittany.
A statement from the prosecutor’s office in the town of Brest said she had been ordered to appear in court on October 14 where she could face charges of negligence and causing unintentional bodily harm.
The woman faces a nervous wait to find out how her court proceedings will go.
Wearing a bright yellow coat, she was caught on camera during the first stage of the race in northwestern Brittany holding up a large cardboard sign with the words “Go! Grandpa and granny” in front of the cyclists.
Riding on the outside of the tightly packed peloton, German cyclist Tony Martin was unable to avoid colliding with the sign and the ensuing pile-up led to a five-minute delay as riders and bikes were untangled.
“The suspect has expressed her feelings of shame and fear about the consequences of her act,” local prosecutor Camille Miansoni told reporters at a press conference that was shown live by some French TV channels.
“She said she is worried about the media attention for what she has called her ‘stupidity’,” Miansoni added from the city of Brest.
The woman told investigators that she felt ashamed of her “stupidity” and was alarmed by the level of public interest in her case, as some described the incident as the “worst crash ever seen” at the Tour de France.
Local police chief Nicolas Duvinage said that an appeal for witnesses posted on Facebook led to more than 4000 messages, some of which “were verging on incitement to violence”.
“We need to stay reasonable and calm on social networks,” he told the press conference. “The suspect has some personal vulnerabilities and we need to avoid a lynching in the media or on social media.”
Prosecutor Miansoni explained that the woman had gone to watch the race with her partner as it passed several kilometres from their home in rural Brittany.
The message on her sign — which she showed in the direction of television cameras, meaning her back was turned to the riders — was intended for her grandparents who were watching on TV at home like millions of others.
Miansoni added that she had no previous criminal record and a decision would be made shortly on whether to charge her with putting others in danger through negligence and causing unintentional bodily harm.
Earlier, the organiser of the Tour de France race said it was withdrawing its legal complaint against her.
“The incident has been blown out of all proportion,” director Christian Prudhomme told AFP.
“So we’d like to calm things down now that the message has got across that the roadside fans need to be careful.”
Martin, a six-time Tour de France stage winner, had earlier called for a severe punishment.
“Not only did she fail to stick around and help us get up from the floor, she didn’t present herself to the police or present her excuses,” the 36-year-old told German publication Bild.