A serious accident disrupted traffic on the A13 motorway on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, near Saint-Ouen-de-Thouberville in France’s Eure department. The crash happened around 10 a.m. at kilometer point 124 in the Paris-to-province direction, when a car collided with a Sanef lane-marking vehicle that was operating on the motorway. Following the impact, the A13 was fully closed in the Paris-to-Caen direction, and the closure remained in place until about 12:30 p.m.
The incident quickly caused heavy congestion in the area. By 10:30 a.m., traffic jams had already stretched to nearly 3 kilometers, and by 11:30 a.m. delays had worsened to 7 kilometers and were still increasing. Dozens of motorists were left stranded in the traffic jam under hot weather conditions reaching 30 degrees Celsius.
Motorway authorities set up a diversion for drivers traveling from Paris. Vehicles were redirected from the A13 at exit 24, Maison Brûlé, then sent onto the RD675 before rejoining the A13 at junction 25, Bourg-Achard, in the direction of Caen.
The motorway gendarmerie motorized unit was deployed to secure the area and carry out findings at the scene. Firefighters from the local emergency services were also called to the site, and their response had ended by around noon.
Four people were involved in the crash. The Sanef vehicle driver, a 30-year-old man, was uninjured. However, the three occupants of the car were hurt. Two men aged 36 and 38 suffered serious injuries and were taken to hospitals in Elbeuf and Rouen. A 10-year-old child sustained minor injuries and was transported to Rouen University Hospital.
Traffic resumed on two lanes, instead of the usual three, around 12:30 p.m. after the motorway closure was lifted.
