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French court orders trial for police in 2007 crash

PARIS — Lawyers for the families of two teens whose deaths in a 2007 traffic accident touched off several days of rioting in Paris’ rough suburbs say the police officer who hit them has been ordered to stand trail on manslaughter charges.

In a statement Thursday, the attorneys, Jean-Pierre Mignard and Emmanuel Tordjman, hailed the Versailles appeals court’s decision as “wise.”

Mohsin Sehhouli, 16, and Lakamy Samoura, 15, died in November 2007 in a motorbike crash with a police car in Villiers-le-Bel, a suburb north of Paris. Neither were wearing helmets, and their bike wasn’t authorized for public roads.

Police insisted the crash was accidental, but many residents blamed the officers and several nights of rioting ensued.