How did Albert Camus die in 1960?

On January 4, 1960, the French author Albert Camus died in an automobile accident in Villeblevin, France.12

Camus was a passenger in a Facel Vega driven by his friend, Michel Gallimard, while they were returning to Paris from Provence. Gallimard lost control of the vehicle, which veered off the road and struck a tree, killing Camus instantly.1

While conspiracy theories have occasionally emerged—most notably an allegation that the Soviet KGB sabotaged the car—these claims have been widely rejected by scholars and biographers, who note the improvised nature of the journey. The death was considered deeply ironic, as Camus had famously theorized the concept of the "absurd" and had reportedly once remarked that a car accident would be the most absurd way to die. At the time of the crash, Camus was carrying the manuscript for his final, unfinished autobiographical novel, which was later published as The First Man.1