Fatal bus accident: public prosecutor’s office investigates driver
Published: Thursday, Mar 28th 2024, 15:40
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Following the serious bus accident on the Autobahn 9 near Leipzig, the public prosecutor's office is investigating the bus driver.
The charge against the 62-year-old is negligent homicide and negligent bodily harm, a spokesperson for the authorities said on Thursday. The spokesperson was unable to say whether the man had already been questioned.
The double-decker Flixbus with 54 people on board, including the two drivers, left the road on Wednesday morning, raced across the grass verge and tipped onto its side. The bus company had previously said that 55 people were on the bus. The police reported 4 fatalities, 6 serious injuries and 29 people with minor injuries.
In any case, the investigators are currently focusing on finding the cause. All injured persons who are being treated in hospital will also be questioned if their state of health permits, as a spokeswoman for Leipzig police headquarters said on Thursday in response to an inquiry. According to the public prosecutor's office, an accident analysis report on the bus will also be commissioned. The first results are not expected for several weeks, the spokesperson emphasized.
The identity of the four fatalities had not yet been established by midday on Thursday. "We are making efforts and hope to be able to provide information in the afternoon," said the police spokeswoman. There was also no information yet on the age and gender of the victims.
The coach had crashed on the way from Berlin to Zurich. It had set off at 8.00 a.m. and the accident happened between the Wiedemar junction and the Schkeuditzer Kreuz junction at around 9.45 a.m.. According to initial findings, no other vehicle was involved. According to the bus company, the driver of the bus is said to have complied with all driving and rest times. "There were two drivers on board, the driver on duty had been driving the bus since its departure from Berlin at 8 a.m.," it said. The A9, an important north-south route between Berlin and Munich, was closed around the accident site for twelve hours.
Even before the emergency services arrived, a following bus had stopped at the scene of the accident. According to the "Saarbrücker Zeitung" newspaper, numerous firefighters from Saarbrücken were sitting in the bus and had immediately rushed to the scene of the accident. They had pulled injured people out of the wreckage and treated them without professional equipment.
There have been a number of serious coach accidents in recent years. Nevertheless, coaches are a relatively safe means of transportation. According to accident statistics, they are comparatively rarely involved in road accidents with personal injury.
"Nevertheless, cases in which accidents occur are often dramatic because the number of people affected can be high," said an ADAC spokesperson. According to the data, a total of eight people died in bus accidents inside and outside built-up areas in 2022 - a figure that is not unusual in a long-term comparison.
The ADAC pointed out that seat belts have been compulsory in coaches since 1999. "It is not clear whether and how the individual companies check whether passengers are wearing their seat belts," said the spokesperson. Coach travelers are generally recommended to fasten their seat belts. According to the ADAC, coaches have also had to be equipped with a lane departure warning system since 2022. It was not initially known whether the bus involved in the accident had one. Such a system warns the driver, but does not prevent them from actually leaving the lane if they do not steer in the opposite direction.
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