The unrest began when the minibike, on which the youths were riding, collided with a police vehicle. The families of the youths allege that police rammed the motorcycle and left the two teenagers for dead. The police deny this, saying that the motorcycle was stolen and was an unregistered vehicle not valid for street use, travelling at high speed, and that the youths were not wearing any protective headgear - an account, according to French newspaper reports, confirmed by two eyewitnesses. A police investigation indicated that the motorcycle was in third (top) gear and that the police car was not going over 40 km/h (25 mph).