‘They had no chance’: Three teens were doomed the second their car flipped but the cause of death was not from impact

Three teenagers in southern France died in an absolutely horrific car crash this week, but it wasn’t the impact of the accident that actually killed them. The circumstances surrounding this tragedy are truly awful and highly unusual. Public prosecutor Abdelkrim Grini confirmed that the fatalities were due to a terrible series of unfortunate events rather than the initial collision itself.

The vehicle reportedly landed upside down in the pool, and because the size of the car was similar to the pool’s dimensions, the teenagers were effectively trapped inside. They just couldn’t open the doors to escape. The teens, aged 14, 15, and 19, drowned after their car skidded off the road in Alès, smashed through a low garden wall, and flipped completely upside down into a private swimming pool.

Grini spoke powerfully about the sheer helplessness the victims must have felt. “It wasn’t the impact of the accident that killed them,” he stated. “They found themselves upside down in icy water, unable to get out. They had no chance.” He summarized the entire event by calling it “truly the height of horror,” according to the BBC.

These teens barely started their lives before they ended

The freak accident happened during the early hours while heavy rain was falling throughout the region. The prosecutor detailed how the car crashed through the wall, flipped over, and landed “with all four wheels in the air.” If you’ve ever been in a car that spins out, you know that loss of control is terrifying enough, but to land submerged and inverted is a nightmare scenario.

The private swimming pool was surprisingly shallow, only about 1.5 meters deep, which is roughly 5 feet. While that depth might seem survivable, being trapped upside down inside a vehicle makes escape nearly impossible, especially when the water is icy cold. The vehicle’s dimensions likely sealed their fate the second it flipped.

What makes this tragedy even more difficult to process is the timeline surrounding the response. The crash happened in the early hours, but the alarm wasn’t raised immediately. Firefighters were not called until several hours after the accident occurred. This delay meant that when help finally arrived, first responders had to drain the pool before they could even attempt to remove the vehicle.

Video from the scene showed the collapsed wall next to the private pool as a mangled car was finally pulled onto a fire brigade truck later that morning. It’s hard not to feel awful thinking about the hours that passed before anyone discovered the scene. All we know is that a teen was driving when the car crashed, but not why.

Investigators are working hard to piece together exactly what led to this devastating crash. There are a couple of key details that authorities are looking into. First, it seems that canisters of nitrous oxide were discovered inside the car, which can be abused. The substance is used recreationally because it can make people feel light-headed, relaxed, or dizzy.