A high school student, who was in the damaged bus Friday morning in Ain, recounts “a very hard steering wheel” and the fall “into a ditch” where the vehicle smashed against trees killing two passengers, including a seven-year-old child.
Used to taking the regional bus that connects Lyon to Bourg-en-Bresse, this 17-year-old young woman “sat in the back seat” this Friday. The bus passed the town of Lent and, shortly after, “the driver slammed the wheel very hard. We were in the right lane. We drifted into the left lane. Then, we drove into a ditch,” she told the press, including AFPTV. “The windows all opened. We all got out of the windows or through the middle of the bus,” she continues.
“We tried to save most of the people (...) who couldn’t get out. We tried to take people whose faces were full of blood, put them on the side of the road so they wouldn't get run over by cars, because the firefighters and police officers weren't there yet,” added this high school student.
She saw nothing on the road at the time of the accident. “I was at the back, I had seen on the windshield and no, there was nothing abnormal. We really don’t know what happened, what could have caused this,” she said.
The Minister of Transport, Philippe Tabarot, sent his condolences to the families of the victims of the accident of the bus which provided the link between Lyon and Bourg-en-Bresse and left the road this Friday morning in Lent, in Ain. The accident left two dead, an 18-year-old young man and a 7-year-old girl, and several injured, including three in absolute emergency.
“I would like to express my condolences to the families affected. With government colleagues, with the president, the Prime Minister, we are at their side in relation to the drama they may be experiencing,” he declared.
Asked about the circumstances of the accident, the minister indicated: “On this accident, I have no additional information. We do not have the necessary perspective and sufficient testimony to explain the cause of this accident. The driver was also a victim in the accident.”
The causes of the accident remain to be determined. The minister also expressed regret: “I apologize collectively. We see it as a failure. We will not give up trying to make transport by coach or bus in our country even safer, whether it is school or not.”
In front of the Lent village hall, where the lightest victims of the tragic bus accident this Friday morning are being cared for, the families want to be positive.
Christophe, father of a 23-year-old student who had taken the bus at the Lent stop, went to the scene of the accident. He saw “carnage” there. Her daughter was taken to Bourg-en-Bresse hospital, where she must have a cranial scan and have shards of glass stuck in her body as a result of the shock removed. At least that's what she told him on the phone.
“She was incoherent,” adds her mother, nervously puffing on her cigarette. The young woman had to go to the university of Bourg-en-Bresse, where she studies.
The LR president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Fabrice Pannekoucke, reacted to the accident of the bus which provided the link between Lyon and Bourg-en-Bresse and which left the road this morning in Lent, in Ain. The elected official provides all his “support for the missing young people, the families and all those who have suffered a terrible traumatic shock”. “It’s an unspeakable tragedy,” he added.
He also salutes the action of the emergency services: “We must salute the rescue and support work for the victims on the part of the firefighters and the police.”
Regarding the causes of the accident, Fabrice Pannekoucke is cautious. “At this point, there are no particular explanations or interpretations that can be given.” Finally, he specifies that it is “an important line in the region whose service is operated by a service provider as part of a public contract”.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez reacted on social networks to the accident of the interregional transport bus which provided the link between Lyon and Bourg-en-Bresse and left the road this morning in Lent, in Ain. The vehicle, the only one involved according to the prefecture, was transporting several dozen people.
“A terrible accident involving an interregional transport bus occurred this morning in Ain. The provisional report shows two young people dead and several injured. My thoughts are with the victims, their families and their loved ones,” wrote the minister.
It specifies that “significant means of relief, security and care are mobilized” and welcomes “the commitment of all the stakeholders, fully mobilized with the victims and their families”.
The socialist president of the Grand Bourg conurbation, Jean-François Débat, reacted to the accident of the bus which provided the link between Lyon and Bourg-en-Bresse and which left the road this Thursday in Lent, in Ain. He evokes “great emotion in the face of a dramatic accident”.
“I think first of the victims and their families. No one drives off in the morning expecting to have such an accident. It’s a great emotion that affects the entire region, all the inhabitants,” declares the elected official. Jean-François Débat also praises the emergency response: “I salute the work of the firefighters and the police, who worked very quickly to take the victims to the hospitals of Lyon and Bourg-en-Bresse.”
Concerning the scene of the accident, the elected official describes a particular configuration: “The road is wide, but there is a slight slope and a right turn.” On site, residents describe a road in good condition, but considered accident-prone, particularly due to the excessive speeds practiced by certain motorists.
A coach from the Cars Région network left the roadway and found itself in a small ditch this Thursday in Lent, in Ain. The accident caused several casualties, with many people injured. A witness, who arrived among the first on site, recounted the scene to our colleagues from Le Progrès.
“A white and blue school bus from the Cars Région network left the roadway and ended up in a small ditch. I arrived among the first people on the scene. Even before reaching the bus, I noticed the presence of debris from tree branches on the road. When I arrived, several students were starting to get out of the vehicle. Some were screaming and crying. The scene was particularly impressive. I immediately contacted the police to report the accident,” she said.
