A seven-year-old girl and an 18-year-old man died on Friday morning when an intercity bus carrying schoolchildren crashed in the Ain region of eastern France. The accident occurred near the village of Lent, a rural area north-east of Lyon, according to the regional prefecture and The Associated Press. Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot described the incident as a serious bus accident, noting that 16 people were injured, with three in critical condition.
Prosecutors in Bourg-en-Bresse reported that the bus was traveling between Lyon and Bourg-en-Bresse with 43 passengers, including 15 minors heading to middle and high schools. The 26-year-old driver, who was later freed from the wreckage and hospitalized with leg injuries, told authorities he had likely dozed off. Karine Malara, a prosecutor, explained that upon waking, the driver found himself on the opposite side of the road, colliding with trees before the vehicle came to rest in a ravine. An investigation into homicide by vehicle was opened, and initial drug screening results for the driver appeared negative, according to Hespress English.
Survivors described the scene as chaotic, with shattered glass and tree branches protruding into the bus. A 17-year-old student told reporters that the bus made a sharp turn into the left-hand lane before entering the ditch. Photos from the scene, including one published by La Voix de l’Ain, showed the white-and-blue bus tilted in a ditch with its front end heavily damaged. Emergency services deployed law enforcement officers, helicopters, and drones to the site, while a psychological support unit was set up at the local town hall for the shocked families.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray commented on the incident, stating that it is always a difficult moment when students are victims of such accidents. He noted that the thoughts of the government and the education community were with the families. The mayor of Bourg-en-Bresse, Jean-Francois Debat, described the road as well-maintained, while the mayor of Lent, Yves Cristin, confirmed the bus had left the road and struck a tree. Accidents involving public transport are considered relatively rare in France, with the last major disaster occurring in 1982 when a motorway pile-up killed 53 people, including 46 children.