Bus Crash in Ain: Driver Says He May Have Dozed Off – Two Dead

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Bus Crash in Ain: Driver Says He May Have Dozed Off – Two Dead.

At 7:30 a.m., a scheduled bus crashed into several trees in Lent in the Ain département. According to French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot, there were 49 people on board. Two passengers died: an 18-year-old man and a seven-year-old girl. The bus was operating on an Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regional route between Lyon and Bourg-en-Bresse.

An important detail corrects a widespread assumption: Despite the high proportion of students on board, it was not a school bus, according to Tabarot. It was a regularly scheduled bus traveling on a route used by many students.

The Bus Left the Road and Crashed Into Trees in a Ditch

The sequence leading to the collision

The mayor of Lent described the crash as follows: The vehicle left the road and struck a tree in the ditch. According to Prosecutor Karine Malara, the driver recalled waking up when the bus was already on the other side of the road. The vehicle then struck several trees.

The authorities therefore describe a straightforward, brief sequence: dozing off at the wheel, leaving the road and crashing into several trees. The reports do not provide information about the speed, a possible collision with other vehicles or events before the bus left the road.

A Franceinfo live-blog update also cites the first witness statements. According to the prosecutor, these initially confirmed the theory that the driver had dozed off at the wheel. How long the driver had been off the road or what caused the vehicle to leave it remains unclear.

Not a School Bus, but a Route Used by Students

The route between Lyon and Bourg-en-Bresse is used by many students, according to Tabarot. This explains the large proportion of young passengers but does not change the type of vehicle involved: The crash occurred on a scheduled bus, not on a vehicle specifically designated as a school bus.

Information initially circulated by the prefecture that two minors had been killed was later clarified by the transport minister's account. According to that information, the victims were a seven-year-old girl and an 18-year-old man. This correction is important because it changes the age, and therefore the classification, of the two victims.

The 26-Year-Old Driver Cites a Possible Loss of Consciousness

What the driver told investigators

The driver said he may have dozed off at the wheel. He added that he had set out very early in the morning. According to Malara, the initial investigative elements made it likely that he had dozed off.

This assessment therefore does not rest solely on the driver's statement. The prosecutor pointed to the first witness statements, which supported the theory that he had dozed off. Nevertheless, as of the latest reports, the cause had not been definitively established. According to the prosecutor's office, the investigation is focusing on the precise circumstances of the crash.

Negative for Alcohol and Drugs

The driver's initial tests were negative for both alcohol and narcotics. The prefect of Ain shared this information with a Radio France reporter at the crash site. The initial investigations therefore did not establish a causal link between alcohol or drugs and the vehicle leaving the road.

The driver is 26 years old and had been employed by the transport company that provided the bus for only a few months under a fixed-term contract, a CDI. After the crash, he was hospitalized and taken into custody. He sustained leg injuries in the crash.

Two Dead, Four Seriously Injured and at Least 12 Others Injured

The severity of the injuries

Four people were admitted in critical condition after the crash. Two of them still had a medical prognosis described as “engagé,” meaning life-threatening. At least 12 other people sustained minor injuries, including the driver, who suffered leg injuries. Franceinfo put the total number of injured people at 16.

The initial reports put the number of seriously injured people at three. Later information from the prosecutor's office cited four hospitalized people in critical condition, two of whom still had a critical prognosis. The French transport minister put the overall toll at two dead and 16 injured.

An investigation was also opened into “homicide routier.” From the outset, the authorities therefore classified the crash as a possible road-traffic offense, rather than solely as a traffic accident involving possible driver liability.

What the Official Investigation Has Confirmed – and What Remains Open

The established core

The available information supports a clear chain of events: A 26-year-old driver who had worked for the company for only a few months said he had dozed off. The bus left the road and struck several trees in the ditch. An 18-year-old man and a seven-year-old girl died in the collision. Four people were admitted in critical condition, two of them still with a critical prognosis.

The initial tests rule out any detectable influence by alcohol or drugs. At the same time, the prosecutor described dozing off as likely based on the initial investigative elements and cited supporting initial witness statements.

Still unresolved

The available reports leave open the precise duration of the driver's state, the sequence of events before the vehicle left the road and the bus's technical condition. No speed or other parties involved are mentioned. The driver's statement, and the resulting likelihood that he dozed off, therefore represent the current state of the investigation rather than the conclusion of a completed determination of the cause.

The details come primarily from Franceinfo's extensive live blog and information summarized by La Libre Belgique.