Bus accident in Ain: Assessment, causes, investigation… Update on the tragedy which left at least two dead

In Lent, in Ain, two passengers died and 29 people were injured Friday morning in the accident of the bus which linked Lyon to Bourg-en-Bresse. The vehicle left the D22 around 7:30 a.m. before hitting several trees on the side of the road. Chartered by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, the bus transported 49 people, including 23 minors. The Bourg-en-Bresse public prosecutor's office entrusted the gendarmes with an investigation into road homicide in order to determine the circumstances of the accident.

A heavy toll with two passengers killed and 29 injured

A seven-year-old girl of Bosnian nationality and an 18-year-old student from Lyon died in the accident. Four people were hospitalized in absolute emergency. For two of them, the vital prognosis was engaged during the press briefing by Karine Malara, public prosecutor of Bourg-en-Bresse. The other 25 injured were more lightly affected.

Around a hundred firefighters and around fifty police officers were deployed on site, with the support of drones and four helicopters. In Lent, a psychological support unit has been set up in the village hall. The Avema-France victims 01 association, mobilized alongside victims and their loved ones, reported “people in shock, stunned”. The Minister of Education Edouard Geffray declared from a high school in the Paris region “to have a thought for these students, for their families”.

The bus driver claims to have dozed off at the wheel

Aged 26, the driver indicated in police custody that he “would have dozed off”, according to the prosecutor. “The first testimonies confirm the dozing off,” said the magistrate. According to his account, the driver woke up when the bus was already on the other side of the road. The vehicle then struck several trees.

Alcohol and drug tests carried out on the driver were negative. According to the first elements of the investigation, a regulator limited the speed of the bus to 70 km/h. On site, the Minister of Transport, Philippe Tabarot, described a vehicle “in very good condition”. The mayor of Bourg-en-Bresse, Jean-François Débat, spoke of “a slope, a slight turn to the right”.

What are the avenues for the investigation?

The prosecutor opened an investigation into road homicide, entrusted to the gendarmes. Injured in the legs, the driver was hospitalized under police custody. According to Philippe Tabarot, he was “new” to the transport company and had tested negative during an unannounced check in mid-October.

Investigators must reconstruct his schedule before the accident. Having left Lyon around 5:30 a.m., the driver would have already made a tour before taking the line to Bourg-en-Bresse. “But we will check the exact times,” said Karine Malara.