NAfter a serious bus accident on the Autobahn 9 near Leipzig, the public prosecutor's office is investigating the bus driver. The 62-year-old man is charged with negligent homicide and negligent bodily harm, a spokesman for the authority said Thursday. The spokesperson could not say whether the man has already been questioned.
A double-decker Flixbus with 54 people on board, including two drivers, left the road on Wednesday morning, ran over a grass verge and flipped onto its side. The bus company had previously talked about 55 people on the bus. Police reported four deaths, six seriously injured and 29 minor injuries.
In any case, investigators are now focused on investigating the cause. A spokesman for the Leipzig police department said on Thursday that they would also question all injured people who are being treated in hospital, if their health allows it. According to the State Prosecutor's Office, an analysis report on the bus accident will also be ordered. The spokesperson of the authority stressed that the first results can be expected only after a few weeks.
The identities of the four dead had not yet been determined by midday on Thursday. “We are trying and hope to be able to provide information on this this afternoon,” a police spokesman said. There was also no information about the age and gender of the dead.
Firefighters from Saarbrücken happened to be there
The coach had an accident on the way from Berlin to Zurich. It started at 8:00 a.m. and the accident happened at about 9:45 a.m. between Wiedemar Junction and Schkeuditzer Kreuz. Initial findings suggest no other vehicles were likely involved. According to the bus company, the bus driver has observed all driving and rest times. “There were two drivers on board, the driver on duty had been driving the bus since it left Berlin at 8am,” it said. The A9, an important north-south route between Berlin and Munich, was closed for twelve hours around the crash site.
Before the arrival of the rescue service, the following bus had stopped at the accident site. According to the “Saarbrücker Zeitung”, numerous Saarbrücken firefighters were sitting there, who immediately rushed to the crashed bus. Therefore, he had pulled the injured people out of the rubble and treated them without professional equipment.
There have been several serious bus accidents in recent years. Despite this, buses are one of the relatively safe means of transport. According to accident statistics, they are relatively rarely involved in traffic accidents with personal injuries.
“However, accidents are often dramatic because the number of people affected can be high,” said an ADAC spokesperson. According to the information, a total of eight people were killed in bus accidents in cities and outside the city in 2022, which is not unusual in a long-term comparison.
ADAC referred to the requirement to fasten seat belts in buses since 1999. “It is not possible to understand whether and how individual companies check whether passengers have their seat belts fastened,” said the spokesperson. Bus passengers are generally advised to fasten their seat belts. In addition, according to ADAC, starting in 2022, buses must be equipped with a so-called lane departure warning system. Initially, it was not known whether the bus involved in the accident had one. Such a system warns the driver, but does not actually prevent the driver from leaving the road unless he or she countersteers.