Witness says motorcycle rider chased truck and attempted to open driver’s door, but fell and went under the wheels

Details have emerged of a motorcyclist who chased and tried to leap on to the truck used by the Nice attacker, and of another person who jumped in front of the truck in an attempt to stop it.



A German journalist, who witnessed the attack during Bastille Day celebrations in the French coastal city, said he saw a motorcyclist dismount and try to enter the cabin but fall and end up under the wheels.

Nice attack: truck driver named as France mourns 84 killed in Bastille Day atrocity – live Read more

“I stood on the balcony, right on the Promenade des Anglais, and saw how people celebrated there, and how suddenly a truck drove through the crowd,” Richard Gutjahr, who shot smartphone video footage of the incident, told Agence France-Presse on Friday.

“Surprisingly, [the truck driver] drove very slowly, not fast. He drove slowly and he was chased by a motorcyclist,” Gutjahr said. “The motorcyclist attempted to overtake the truck and even tried to open the driver’s door, but he fell and ended up under the wheels of the truck.” He is thought to be in a critical condition in hospital.

Bastille day attack: what we know so far Read more

Gutjahr said he saw two police officers open fire on the vehicle. “Then the driver stepped on the accelerator and the truck sped up, accelerated and drove in a zigzag course into the crowd.

“In the next 15 to 20 seconds there were shots from several guns. I don’t know who shot at whom.



“The panicked crowd ran in all directions. Those who could save themselves ran into the hotels, or sought security in the hotel entrances,.”

The truck appears to have continued for another 300 metres or so, coming to a halt after another person jumped out of the crowd in front of it, according to Éric Ciotti, a politician for the department of Alpes-Maritimes, which includes Nice. He told Europe 1 radio that the person showed “extraordinary courage”.

Ciotti said the truck driver tried to shoot the person with a pistol, while also firing on police officers who had the truck surrounded. The suspect failed to hit the officers, Ciotti added, saying “it’s at that moment that the police were able to neutralise him”.

Agence France-Presse contributed to this report

