A seven-year-old girl from Bosnia and Herzegovina died when a school bus overturned in the town of Lent, near the city of Bourg-en-Bresse, the portal “Ground News” reported.
An eighteen-year-old young man also died in the accident. The prosecutor’s office announced today that the school bus driver told police he had fallen asleep at the wheel.
“When he woke up, he was on the opposite side of the road,” prosecutor Karine Malara said at a press conference.
Four people were seriously injured, two of whom are in critical condition. Another 25 people sustained minor injuries. The 26-year-old driver is among the injured and has been taken into custody.
The prosecutor stated that tests for alcohol and drugs were negative, and that an investigation has been launched into suspected involuntary manslaughter and causing injuries in a traffic accident.
The driver said he had started work early and had already completed one trip.
The bus struck some trees before coming to a stop in a ditch beside the road in Lent, a small town near Lyon.
There were 49 people on the bus, including 23 minors, according to DPA.
More than 100 firefighters and 50 police officers were deployed to the scene, and the road where the accident occurred has been closed.
President Emmanuel Macron described the accident as “horrific,” noting that his thoughts are with the families of the victims.
