An intercity coach left the road and struck a tree in a ditch near the commune of Lent in the Ain department on Friday, 6 November, killing two passengers and injuring around twenty others, according to BFM. Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot, who travelled to the scene, said the dead were a young man of 18 and a child of 7.
The vehicle was running a regional service between Lyon and Bourg-en-Bresse, the minister said. According to BFM, a number of school pupils were among those on board, though Tabarot said the coach was not used solely for school transport.
Why it matters
The crash has drawn national attention because of the age of the victims and the number of young passengers involved. Ouest-France reported that roughly fifteen pupils were among those travelling. The Ain prefect, Louis-Xavier Thirode, told BFM that all victims had been taken into care and that rescue operations wrapped up between 9:30 and 10 that morning.
Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said on X that the entire health chain had been mobilised, naming emergency medical services, medico-psychological emergency units and hospitals, and confirming that white plans — emergency hospital protocols — had been activated. She said everything was being done to treat the injured, support families and meet all needs, BFM reported.
Rescue effort and the condition of the injured
More than 100 firefighters and helicopters were deployed to the site, according to BFM. Speaking at the scene, Tabarot put the number of injured still in relative emergency at around twenty, with three in absolute emergency. BFM noted that a source close to the investigation had earlier given a figure of four in absolute emergency.
The minister said the driver was not classed as being in absolute emergency but rather in relative emergency, and that he had to be cut free from the wreckage. Because of his condition, investigators have not yet been able to question him, Tabarot added, saying it would take some time before the usual questions could be put to him.
The mayor of Lent, Yves Cristin, told BFMTV that the coach went off the road and hit a tree in the ditch. He said the spot presents no particular difficulty and that he did not understand why the bus left its lane.
Investigation opened as driver's test results come back negative
Prosecutors opened a flagrante investigation for vehicular homicide and aggravated vehicular injury, entrusting it to the research section of the Lyon gendarmerie, according to BFM. The prefect said the crash did not yet have a determined cause.
Thirode said that, to his knowledge, there was no trace of alcohol or narcotics in the driver's blood. BFM, citing a source close to the investigation, reported that initial screening tests on the driver were negative, with further blood results pending.
Tabarot said there was not yet enough distance or sufficient witness accounts to explain what caused the crash. He said the company operating the coach had been inspected 106 times since 2024, and that the driver, although new to the job, had already been checked on several occasions, including for drugs — not only after Friday's crash but also three weeks earlier. The coach had passed all its checks and was in very good condition, the minister said.
Witnesses describe shock and confusion
At the gymnasium in Lent where many of the injured were being cared for, a relative of a 17-year-old boy on the coach told BFMTV he had a bruise on his nose and minor grazes, and that the greater harm was likely psychological. She said the scene had been shocking for a young person, noting there had been a good deal of blood inside the bus. According to her, the teenager could not understand why the coach had gone straight into the tree, and was asking whether the driver had fallen asleep or been taken ill.
A young woman who had been on board spoke to reporters after leaving hospital, saying she was still in shock. Le Parisien reported that the driver may have suffered a malaise, citing a witness account that he began to speed up and then brake and did not seem well.
The prefect said the coach had no determined cause for the crash at this stage, and the minister said further witness testimony would be needed. Tabarot was expected to speak at Lent before going on to the town hall.
What to watch: the driver's full blood results and his eventual interview with investigators, which the minister indicated will not happen until his condition allows.
