Driver charged after deadly crash with Ukrainians in France

One of the drivers of the Ukrainian bus involved in the June 14 crash in France’s Sarthe department, which left four people dead, has been officially charged with involuntary manslaughter and causing bodily harm through negligence.

According to Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau, the bus was carrying Ukrainian teenagers who were in France on a school trip. Both drivers were initially detained as part of a preliminary investigation launched by the prosecutor’s office in Le Mans. Toxicology tests showed neither had alcohol nor drugs in their system.

On Saturday, the case was transferred to a special division of the Paris prosecutor’s office that investigates large-scale disasters. A formal judicial investigation was opened for involuntary manslaughter and injury by the driver of a vehicle. The driver behind the wheel at the time of the crash has been officially charged and placed under judicial supervision.

According to Le Figaro, the judicial restrictions include a ban on operating motor vehicles and an obligation to appear when summoned by the investigating judge.

The second driver, who was not driving at the time of the crash, was released from custody on Saturday evening. The investigation is ongoing under the supervision of a magistrate.

On the evening of June 15, the prosecutor confirmed that the lives of those previously reported in critical or serious condition were no longer in danger.

Ukrainian bus crash in France

On Friday, June 14, a bus carrying Ukrainian children crashed in the French department of Sarthe. A total of 58 people were onboard, most of them Ukrainian teenagers aged 15 to 17, returning home after a visit with students from the agricultural lycée La Touche in Ploërmel (Morbihan department).

Four people were killed and 56 were injured: nine seriously, 18 moderately, and 29 lightly.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later shared further details about the deadly crash.