The driver of the coach involved in a fatal accident on Sunday on the A6 was indicted for involuntary homicide and placed under judicial supervision, the Dijon prosecutor said on Monday. The 63-year-old man is also being prosecuted for “unintentional injuries”, added Olivier Caracotch in a press release. The accident which occurred during the night from Saturday to Sunday in Chailly-sur-Armençon near Eguilly in Côte-d’Or left one person dead, a 14-year-old girl, specifies the prosecution – which had initially mentioned the age of 15 years old. Around ten people were also injured, “including an adult seriously injured in an upper limb”, according to the press release.
51 people on board, including 41 children
The coach, which left the town of Andelys in Eure, was going to the Hautes-Alpes for a summer camp with 51 people on board including 41 children aged 5 to 15 and 10 adults, including the driver. The driver, who was taken into custody, tested negative for alcohol and drugs. On Sunday, the prosecution indicated that the latter thought he had “dozed off”. As part of his judicial review, he is prohibited from driving any collective passenger transport vehicle as well as from entering into contact with the victims.
Investigations with the company that owns the bus, based in Hautes-Alpes, “do not allow at this stage to note any anomaly in the driving times or the condition of the vehicle,” the prosecution said on Monday. “The first findings suggest that the vehicle, for a reason still undetermined, moved to the right of the road, biting the shoulder, before lying down,” he explains.
Lots of rain at the time of the tragedy
The day before, the mayor of Eguilly had explained to AFP that it was raining a lot at the time of the tragedy but that visibility was good and traffic was flowing smoothly. “I was woken up by the prefecture at 2 a.m. I went to see the children who were extremely shocked, a young girl was trembling all over and I came out of the room very moved,” Jean-Pierre also declared. Marie Faivret.
The uninjured people were taken care of by a medical-psychological emergency unit and regrouped in a college in Pouilly-en-Auxois until their return to Eure.