Traffic
Fatal bus accident near Leipzig: investigations against the driver
There have been a number of serious coach accidents in recent years. photo
© Jan Woitas/dpa
After the devastating bus accident on the A9, many questions remain. There is feverish research into the cause in particular. Firefighters happened to be there early and provided first aid.
Investigators are currently focusing on finding the cause. Numerous witness interviews are pending, as a spokeswoman for the Leipzig Police Department said upon request. All injured people who are being treated in a hospital should also be interviewed, provided their state of health allows it.
There are still many unanswered questions about the accident that left 4 dead and more than 30 injured.
That happened
The double-decker Flixbus left the road on Wednesday morning, raced across the grass verge and tipped over on its side. No current information could yet be provided about the health status of the injured, including six seriously injured.
The identities of the four fatalities have not yet been clarified. “We are trying and hope to be able to provide information about this in the afternoon,” said the police spokeswoman. There is also no information yet about the age and gender of the victims.
The bus with more than 50 passengers and two drivers had an accident on the way from Berlin to Zurich. It started at 8:00 a.m. and the accident happened at around 9:45 a.m. between the Wiedemar junction and the Schkeuditzer Kreuz. According to initial findings, no other vehicle was probably involved. The A9, an important north-south route between Berlin and Munich, was closed around the accident site for twelve hours.
Before the emergency services arrived, a bus following had stopped at the scene of the accident. According to the “Saarbrücker Zeitung”, there were numerous firefighters from Saarbrücken sitting there who immediately rushed to the crashed coach. Accordingly, she had pulled injured people out of the rubble and treated them without professional equipment.
The traffic police inspection has started an investigation on suspicion of negligent homicide. According to the bus company, the driver of the bus is said to have adhered to 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 8 a.m.,” it said. According to police, he is not among the dead.
Numerous serious coach accidents
There have been a number of serious coach accidents in recent years. Nevertheless, buses are one of the relatively safe means of transport. According to accident statistics, they are comparatively rarely involved in traffic accidents with personal injuries.
“Nevertheless, cases in which accidents occur are often dramatic because the number of people affected can be high,” said an ADAC spokesman. According to the information, a total of eight people died in bus accidents inside and outside towns in 2022 – a number that is not unusual in long-term comparison.
The ADAC referred to the requirement to wear seat belts in coaches since 1999. “It is not possible to understand whether and how individual companies check whether passengers are wearing seatbelts,” said the spokesman. Bus travelers are generally advised to fasten their seatbelts. In addition, according to ADAC, coaches must be equipped with a so-called lane departure warning system since 2022.
It was initially not known whether the bus that crashed had one. Such a system warns the driver, but does not prevent the driver from actually leaving the road if they do not countersteer.