Arrested bus driver who lost his way in France. He'll be asleep

O driver of the bus that lost, during the morning of Friday, near the city of Lent, in the east of France, was arrested after confessing to the authorities who may have fallen asleep at the wheel.

The information was advanced by Bourg-en-Bresse prosecutor Karine Malara, who stated that the driver, who is hospitalized and in police custody, said during the first police interrogation, that he may have fallen asleep at the wheel before crossing the lane. According to him, he only regained consciousness when he was already on the other side of the road.

The first tests for alcohol and drugs were negative and the driver also stated that he was circulating with the speed control system activated on a section of the road where the limit is 70 km/h, Le Figaro indicated.

The accident caused two fatalities – including a seven-year-old girl and a 17-year-old. There's still a record of 16 wounded.

The intercity bus, which made the route between Lyon and Bourg-en-Bresse, carried 43 people, including 15 minors.

The accident took place around 7 a.m. locals (06 a.m. in Lisbon), when the bus crashed and crashed into a tree, falling into a ditch, according to the mayor, Yves Cristin, who said that the reasons for the loss are still unknown.

According to a statement from the French Ministry of Transport, 102 firefighters, 58 vehicles and 50 police officers were deployed to the site, to which four helicopters and eight SMUR teams were also sent (Emergency Mobile Service and Resuscitation).

The French Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, expressed in a message published on social networks his condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims, as well as to “all those affected by the tragedy”, thanking firefighters, medical teams and emergency services for their assistance work.

Un accident tragique ce matin à Lent, dans l’Ain. Deux enfants ont perdu la vie et plusieurs personnes ont été blessées dans un accident de bus. Pensées à leurs familes et à leurs proches, anisi qu’à l’ensemble des personnes touchées par ce drame. Merci aux sapeurs-pompiers, aux equipes medicales et aux forces de l’ordre mobilisés sur place pour porter sectires aux victimes. Le Ministre des Transports se surrender sur place.

— Sébastien Lecornu (@SebLecornu) November 6, 2026

For his part, the French Minister of Education, Édouard Geffray, expressed his solidarity with the students affected by the bus accident and his support for families.

“I want to express my feelings to these students and their families. When our students, our children, are victims of accidents of this nature, it is always a very difficult experience,” he said, saying that the government will closely monitor the situation.

[News update]