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Meyssonier Fernand (b. 1931-06-14 / d. 2008-08-08)
He was an executioner in the last years of French Algeria. He acted as an executioner from 1947 to 1961 and executed more than 200. He inherited the job of executioner from his father Maurice Meyssonnier in 1947 when he ended compulsory education. His ancestors had been executioners from ages ago. When Algeria became independent from France in 1961, the guillotine was replaced by execution by firing squad.
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35
Born 1952-03-26. Domain:Sport. Cause of death:Accident
In 1986 it looked as if Pironi would make a come back. He tested for the French AGS team, and proved that he was still fast enough to be competitive in Formula One. But when he could not find a seat in a good team in 1987 he resorted to powerboat racing. He was killed in an accident near the Isle of Wight,that also took the life of his two crew members: journalist Bernard Giroux and his old friend Jean-Claude Guenard. In his Formula One career Didier Pironi won 3 races, achieved 13 podiums, and scored a total of 101 championship points. He also secured 4 pole positions.
37
Born 1950-03-10. Domain:Journalism. Cause of death:Accident
Killed in an off-shore accident with Pironi. He was navigator.
32
Born 1950-01-18. Domain:Sport. Cause of death:Accident
On his final qualifying lap for the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder, Villeneuve was attempting to beat Pironi's faster time. As he came up behind Jochen Mass' March-Ford, the front left wheel of his car came into contact with the right rear wheel of Mass' car, who moved aside to let Villeneuve through. Villeneuve moved the same way to pass Mass' car and was launched into the air before nose-diving into the soft earthen embankment just outside the armco and somersaulting along the side of the track. The violence of the accident reduced the car to its cockpit, and ripped Villeneuve's seat from the back of the monocoque. Villeneuve, still strapped to his seat, was thrown across the track and into the catch fencing just outside the corner. When the medical team arrived, he was not breathing. Villeneuve was resuscitated at the scene, but his injuries were fatal. He died in a local hospital that evening, his fatal injuries were likely caused by the force of his car landing for the first time after the initial impact.
34
Born 1944-02-14. Domain:Sport. Cause of death:Accident
At the start of the race, the race starter threw the green light before the field was ready to start. Several cars in the middle of the field got a jump on those at the front, and the result was an accordion effect of the cars as they approached the chicane, bunching the cars tightly together. James Hunt collided with Peterson, with Riccardo Patrese, Vittorio Brambilla, Hans-Joachim Stuck, Patrick Depailler, Didier Pironi, Derek Daly, Clay Regazzoni and Brett Lunger all involved in the ensuing melee.
Peterson's Lotus went into the barriers hard and caught fire. He was trapped, but Hunt, Regazzoni and Depailler managed to free him from the wreck before he received more than minor burns. He was dragged free and laid in the middle of the track fully conscious, his severe leg injuries obvious to all. Hunt later said he stopped Peterson from looking at his legs to spare him further distress.
At the time there was more concern for Brambilla , who was hit on the head by a flying wheel and was slumped comatose in his car (he later recovered and drove on in F1 until 1980). Peterson's life was not seen to be in any danger. The injured drivers were taken to hospital in Milan and the race was restarted after the track was cleaned up.
At the hospital, Peterson's X-rays showed he had 7 fractures in one leg and 3 in the other. After discussion with Ronnie himself, the surgeons decided to operate to stabilize the bones. Unfortunately, during the night, bone marrow went into Peterson's bloodstream through the fractures, forming fat globules on his major organs including lungs, liver, and brain. By morning he was in full renal failure and was declared dead a few hours later. The cause of death was given as fat embolism. Somebody reported that Peterson's death should be ascribed to bloodloss happened during the attempt to remove this embolism.
Peterson's life would most likely have been saved had he received medical attention immediately after his accident. In violation of safety requirements, track officials waited more than 20 minutes before dispatching medical help to the scene.
Teammate and close friend Andretti clinched the championship at the race. "It was so unfair to have a tragedy connected with probably what should have been the happiest day of my career," Andretti said. "I couldn't celebrate, but also, I knew that trophy would be with me forever. And I knew also that Ronnie would have been happy for me."