TESTIMONY. Lidl sold alcohol to my underage son, he killed himself on the road

She filed a complaint against Lidl: the supermarket, in Urrugne (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), sold alcohol to her 16-year-old son. A few hours later, he died in a traffic accident.

“Kilian was a respectful boy who took care of his family. But like many teenagers, he loved life, the thrill, and he had temptations,” says Coralie Larroquet.

It is on May 8, 2021 that everything changes for the mother of the family. That day, Kilian has to join a friend to go to the beach. “I let him go, but I was very vigilant when he came out. I followed his movements on his scooter thanks to an application, and we sent text messages regularly”, continues the mother.

Around 6 p.m., his son assures him that he is about to return. And then, nothing. “At 6:20 p.m., says Coralie, her friend calls me and says to me: you have to come quickly, we had an accident at the Lidl in Socoa, Kilian needs cardiac massage”.

The teenager crashed into a lamp post. Unfortunately, he died on the spot shortly after.

For Coralie, the shock is immeasurable. “I was in all my states. I asked my son’s friend if they had been drinking, smoking, and he said ‘yes, we drank a little and smoked a little’. I got carried away,” she recalls.

Ten days later, the mother of the family learns from the investigators that the two young people went that day to Lidl, where they bought a bottle of Vodka without anyone there worrying about their young age.

Even if, according to Coralie, “Kilian had his helmet on, he hadn’t drunk much, and there were no traces of cannabis in his blood”, the worst could not be avoided.

His friend, whose alcohol level was, on the contrary, criminal, was found guilty of aggravated manslaughter: it was by deporting that he caused Kilian’s fatal accident.

But for Coralie, the fight does not end with her conviction. “I’m not looking for someone to blame for my son’s accident, there’s no point in blaming anyone, we can all be wrong, and I can’t blame this young person”, specifies she. “But in the chain of events, Lidl has its share of responsibility”. She filed a complaint against the store for “illegal sale of alcohol to a minor”.

She knows what she’s talking about: Coralie herself was a cashier. And she regrets that the subject is not always taken seriously in the large distribution. “We were told: if you see someone with a bottle in their coat, it’s a dangerous situation, but we were never told, if you see a minor buying alcohol, do something”, sighs the mother of the family.

Awareness is imperative according to Coralie Larroquet. “It’s sad that it takes a drama, but because of the accident, the investigation has provided evidence that Lidl did sell alcohol to minors. Parents fight every day to protect their children, and there are adults who come to ruin everything,” she insists.

Today, she wants to speak, go to the end of her fight, and hope that things will change. The hearing is scheduled before the Bayonne Criminal Court on November 3.