A 7-year-old girl and an 18-year-old young man died in the crash. The judicial file concerns the circumstances in which the driver lost control of his vehicle. The investigation continues to be based on the statements of the 26-year-old driver: a very early start to his shift, fatigue, then falling asleep before the impact. No other explanation is being put forward by the prosecutor’s office at this stage.
The Bourg-en-Bresse prosecutor’s office announced on Sunday that the driver of a coach, aged 26, had been placed under formal investigation for involuntary homicide as the driver of a motor vehicle. The accident occurred on Friday in Lent, in the Ain.
The driver, who has no criminal record, was questioned again by investigators from the Lyon research section, the prosecutor’s office said. He confirmed his initial statements.
The charge now retained is involuntary homicide committed by the driver of a motor vehicle. It was notified on Sunday, at the end of this further questioning.
He had already said he had “dozed off” at the wheel. The prosecutor’s office is repeating this sequence without, at the current stage of the investigation, citing any other cause of the tragedy.
The events took place on Friday in the municipality of Lent, in the Ain. The two people killed were a 7-year-old child and an 18-year-old young man, according to the information made public. The magistrates, however, set aside the legal framework initially considered. “At the current stage of the investigation, the initial charges of road homicide and injuries are not being retained, given the absence of aggravating circumstances,” the prosecutor’s office said on Sunday.
According to the same source, he said he had started his shift very early in the morning, felt tired, and fallen asleep before the crash. This is the account he is maintaining after this new hearing. This approach therefore stems, according to the prosecutor’s office, from the absence of aggravating elements. The charges of homicide and road injuries initially mentioned are not being maintained.