Driver error behind fatal bus crash in eastern France

The tour bus was travelling towards Nice when it crashed on the A-36 highway near Mulhouse on Wednesday afternoon.

There were 65 passengers, two drivers and a tour guide on board.

“According to witness accounts, it seems the driver saw the highway exit at the last moment and decided to take it anyway. The brutality of the swerve and the braking led to the accident,” Pascal Hurtault, the head of the police at the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace, says.

Investigators are still looking at the possibility of a mechanical fault. Alcohol and drugs tests on the driver returned negative.

Police say the 29-year old driver, who has driven the route several times, is due to face court in Mulhouse and could be charged with homicide and causing unintentional injuries.

Thirteen people were seriously injured in the accident.