Safety barrier down in deadly French bus collision: lawyer
The safety measures were working at the crossing where a French train collided with a school bus two weeks ago, killing six children, a lawyer for the victims said Saturday, citing a report from France's rail operator.
The driver had told investigators neither the barrier nor the warning lights were operating at the time of the collision at the level crossing in the southern village of Millas.
She was charged with involuntary homicide within days of the December 14th crash, France's worst accident involving a school bus for three decades.
"Everything was working perfectly," said Jehanne Collard, a lawyer for some of the victims' families, referring to an accident report from state rail operator SNCF, which has not been made public.
"One could certainly imagine that SNCF rigs its reports, but I have trouble believing that," she said.
"The SNCF knows that there is going to be a judicial probe and that it would be an enormous error (to lie)."
The French rail operator said the functioning of the crossing's safety features is "under the jurisdiction of the judicial investigation, with which SNCF is cooperating fully".
Collard, speaking on French news channel BFM, said the train involved in the collision was running nine minutes late at the time of the crash.
"The bus driver may have been surprised to see the barrier down, which could maybe explain why the accident happened," she added.
READ ALSO: Deadly French school bus crash: Driver charged with manslaughter
Comments
See Also
The driver had told investigators neither the barrier nor the warning lights were operating at the time of the collision at the level crossing in the southern village of Millas.
She was charged with involuntary homicide within days of the December 14th crash, France's worst accident involving a school bus for three decades.
"Everything was working perfectly," said Jehanne Collard, a lawyer for some of the victims' families, referring to an accident report from state rail operator SNCF, which has not been made public.
"One could certainly imagine that SNCF rigs its reports, but I have trouble believing that," she said.
"The SNCF knows that there is going to be a judicial probe and that it would be an enormous error (to lie)."
The French rail operator said the functioning of the crossing's safety features is "under the jurisdiction of the judicial investigation, with which SNCF is cooperating fully".
Collard, speaking on French news channel BFM, said the train involved in the collision was running nine minutes late at the time of the crash.
"The bus driver may have been surprised to see the barrier down, which could maybe explain why the accident happened," she added.
READ ALSO: Deadly French school bus crash: Driver charged with manslaughter
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.