Major health update on Brit family hurt in horror crash that killed mum-of-10

01 August 2023 , 09:05

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A 75-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man were also killed.

French police have given an update on the British family involved in a serious car crash that killed a mother-of-ten from London.

All members of the British family are "out of danger", it emerged today. They include Rabbi Pinchos Posen, the 48-year-old husband of Miriam Posen, 50, who died in Sunday’s accident, south of Lens. Around five other members of the family, all from the Orthodox Jewish community in Stamford Hill, are "recovering well", according to a local emergency services source.

"All were travelling in a minivan when the accident happened, and three were rushed to intensive care. Some of these lives were considered to be in danger at first, but this is no longer the case – they are all out of intensive care", they said. Miriam's 19-year-old daughter is the most severely injured and remains in hospital in Cambrai.

A 40-year-old woman understood to be from London died at the scene in northern France. (La Voix du Nord)

Another 16-year-old daughter, and Mr Posen, were originally in intensive care too, while three children aged 13, 11 and eight had injuries which were not considered life-threatening. There were four people in a second vehicle, including an unidentified 75-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man, both of whom died after suffering cardiac arrests. The other two passengers in the second car – a 14-year-old boy and a 79-year-old man – remain in a hospital in Lille, after being transported there by helicopter.

The emergency services source said the teenager "remained in a critical condition." A third car involved was being driven by a woman in her 30s, but she suffered only light injuries, along with three children aged six, eight and nine. A spokesman for the Arras prosecutor's office, which is investigating the crash, said alcohol and toxicology tests had been performed, without revealing any results.

Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him

He said it was "way too early" to say exactly what caused the accident, and that "numerous witnesses" were being spoken to. The accident happened in good light at about 6pm on Sunday, when the driver of one of the vehicles is thought to have lost control and passed on to the opposite carriageway, hitting another vehicle head-on. On Monday, Izzy Posen, the Posen’s eldest son, wrote on social media: "My mother sadly passed away yesterday in tragic circumstances. She was young and healthy and full of the spirit of life. I loved her so much.

And a family spokesman said: "Miriam was a devoted mother who was loved so much by her family and friends. She was a very special person who will be greatly missed by all who knew her. We are still coming to terms with what has happened. It was only on Sunday night."

Peter Allen