The Eritrean migrant killed on the road near Calais at the weekend was attacking the car that hit him, and may have been holding a weapon, it has emerged.
The father of the British man driving the car which struck the migrant on Sunday night has spoken out about the incident, describing a terrifying ordeal which he said had left both him and his son traumatised.
The pair were headed towards the Eurostar terminal at about 8.30pm on Sunday night when a group of around 50 migrants who were attempting to block the road turned on their vehicle.
“It was unbelievably terrifying,” Nafthali Reichman, a jeweller from Stamford Hill in North London, told the Daily Mail.
“My son is traumatised and so am I. It happened in a split second. It was dark and suddenly someone jumped on to our car.
“He was on the bonnet and smashed the front windscreen. He could have had something in his hand.
“Once the windscreen was broken we saw a whole gang of migrants coming towards us and one of them broke the left mirror. We knew we had no chance. It was unbelievably frightening.”
As his son, Abraham, slammed on the brakes the migrant slid from the bonnet and “disappeared from view,” Mr. Reichman said.
“At the time we didn’t have clue what happened. There were lots of people on the road around us. I could see at least 10, but there could have been more.
“All I know is that is someone ended up on the floor. He was on the car. But he flew to the other side. It was terrifying.”
According to the local prosecutor, father and son told the police that they initially pulled over to try to help the man, but migrants turned on their car and, afraid of being lynched, they drove on.
“We could barely see out of the windscreen, but we just kept driving. It was very upsetting,” Mr. Reichman said.
They immediately reported the incident to the police, who questioned the pair for three hours, and tested Abraham for drugs and alcohol. Following their interrogation they were allowed to make their way home, returning on the Eurostar as foot passengers.
The men had no idea until later that an Eritrean migrant had been killed in the incident, two hours after he was taken to hospital. His death brings the number of migrants killed around Calais this year to 14; most have been the victims of traffic accidents.
His sister – who was reported to be his wife in earlier reports – was also admitted with a broken leg, but has since been discharged.
Police last night confirmed that Abraham Reichman will not face charges over the death.
The incident occurred just days before a Kent couple warned fellow drivers to avoid Calais completely, recounting how their car was set upon by around 40 hooded migrants.
“They were banging on the windows, hitting the car and trying to get in, shouting and screaming at us,” Paul Burton told local reporters, adding: “The situation in Calais is clearly completely out of control.”
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