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‘Goodbye Tony’- why this message was shown on French motorway
Emotional homage to former colleague was seen on A8 near Nice
Drivers on a stretch of southern French motorway may have spotted a different message displayed on electronic information signs yesterday (March 14).
Signs on the A8 between Nice and Cannes, which usually display information on weather, traffic, or accidents, instead showed a message reading ‘Adieu Tony, on ne t'oubliera pas’ (Farewell Tony, we won't forget you).
You can see a photo of one of the signs below:
Ce midi, les équipes de VINCI Autoroutes et toute la famille de la route sont unies pour rendre hommage à Tony Nellec, notre collègue et patrouilleur, tué en intervention le dimanche 3 mars sur l’A8. pic.twitter.com/hbGaOCmikT
— VINCI Autoroutes (@VINCIAutoroutes) March 14, 2024
It was displayed by the route’s operator, Vinci Automobiles, as an homage to Tony Nellec, a road safety worker who died whilst on duty at the beginning of March.
His funeral was held yesterday in Nice’s crematorium, and was attended by hundreds of people including co-workers and CEO of Vinci Automobiles Pierre Coppey.
Mr Nellec, who was originally from Martinique, lived in Cagnes-sur-Mer (close to Nice) with his wife and five children.
Fatal accident during storm callout
He died after being hit by a speeding car whilst helping people after responding to a callout during fierce storms on March 3.
Read more: Roadside assistance worker killed in south of France
The 18-year old driver of the car lost control due to the heavy rains, hitting and killing Mr Nellec and injuring three others, including two gendarmes.
He has been provisionally charged with manslaughter.
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