A British mother-of-ten killed in a horror crash in northern France has today been pictured for the first time.
Miriam Posen was travelling with six of her family members when they were involved in a three-vehicle crash on a motorway south of Lens.
Her husband and two of her children are understood to be recovering ‘well’ after the accident which also claimed the lives of a 75-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man.
Mrs Posen, a member of the orthodox Jewish community from Stamford Hill, north London, was travelling in a van at the start of a holiday when the tragedy unfolded.
The photo of 50-year-old Mrs Posen, posing with her eldest son Izzy, was taken in 2017 before he became estranged from his family after he broke from the closed world of Ultra-Orthodox Judaism to study English and get a degree in physics and philosophy from Bristol University.
He captioned it: ‘With my beautiful mother’.
Mother-of-ten Miriam Posen, who tragically passed away in a car crash in France, has been pictured for the first time with her eldest son Izzy
The horror smash took place at around 6pm on Sunday on a motorway south of Lens
Mrs Posen was in France with her husband and some of her ten children, the family spokesperson said.
Mrs Posen was an ultra-Orthodox Jew who only spoke in Yiddish and observed a strict dress code.
On Monday, Izzy wrote on social media: ‘My mother sadly passed away yesterday in tragic circumstances.
‘She was young and healthy and full of the spirit of life. I loved her so much.’
His post was greeted with a flood of friends sending their condolences and wishing his injured father and siblings well.
Friends and family of Mrs Posen are still coming to terms with her death which has shocked the Jewish community around her home.
One neighbour said: ‘We really can’t believe that Miriam has gone. She was devoted to her children. It is all so upsetting.’
A family spokesman said yesterday: ‘Miriam was a devoted mother who was loved so much by her family and friends. She was a very special person who will be greatly missed by all who knew her.
‘We are still coming to terms with what has happened. It was only on Sunday night.’
Meanwhile, the rest of the family involved in the horror crash are now ‘out of danger’, it emerged today.
Mrs Posen’s husband Shalom Pinchos Posen and five other members of the family are ‘recovering well,’ according to a local emergency services source.
‘All were travelling in a minivan when the accident happened, and three were rushed to intensive care,’ the source said.
‘Some of these lives were considered to be in danger at first, but this is no longer the case – they are all out of intensive care.’
The British person worst injured, beyond Mrs Posen, was her 19-year-old daughter, who on Tuesday remained in hospital in Cambrai.
Another 16-year-old female and Mr Posen were originally in intensive care too, while three children aged 13, 11 and eight had injuries which were not considered life threatening.
Emergency services at the scene of the crash on Sunday evening
There were four people in a second vehicle, including an unidentified 75-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man, both of whom died after suffering cardiac arrests.
The other two passengers in the second car – a 14-year-old boy and a 79-year-old man – remain in hospital in Lille, after being transported there by helicopter.
The emergency services source said the teenager ‘remained in a critical condition.’
A third car involved was being driven by a woman in her 30s, but she suffered only light injuries, along with three children aged six, eight and nine.
A spokesman for the Arras prosecutor’s office, which is investigating the crash, said alcohol and toxicology tests had been performed, without revealing any results.
He said it was ‘way too early’ to say exactly what caused the accident, and that ‘numerous witnesses’ were being spoken to.
The accident happened in good light at about 6pm on Sunday, when the driver of one of the vehicles is thought to have lost control and passed on to the opposite carriageway, hitting another vehicle head on.
French regional state prefect Jacques Billant said witnesses to the horrific crash were ‘being offered psychological counselling’.
The section of the A26 motorway was closed off until late into the night on Saturday, as six emergency medical teams attended the scene.
Around 60 firefighters were also scrambled to the crash site to try to rescue the victims.
The incident occurred at the height of the holiday season, when thousands of British drivers make their way across the Channel.
An FCDO spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘We are in contact with the local authorities following a road traffic accident in France and have offered our assistance to the family.’
I am Rakesh Sharma, I associated with Elite News as an Editor, since 2021. I take care of all the news operations like content, budget, hiring and policy making.