A 17-year-old Frenchwoman and a 29-year-old Colombian were killed on Sunday in the accident in Belgium of a BlaBlaCar bus chartered by the Ile-de-France company VIC which made the Paris-Amsterdam connection. The driver is suspected of driving under the influence of narcotics.
The accident occurred this Sunday at midday on the E19 motorway north of Antwerp, shortly before the Dutch border. For an as yet undetermined reason, a red bus with the BlaBlacar logo swerved from its lane and then hit a concrete barrier, before lying on its side, the windshield shattered. According to witnesses and CCTV images, no other vehicle was involved, and the exit from the road was done “gradually” before the collision with the guardrail.
The bus, chartered by the partner company VIC based in Bondy in Seine-Saint-Denis, made the Paris-Lille-Amsterdam connection and carried 30 passengers aged 16 to 39: seventeen French, three Americans, two Germans, two Colombians, two Mexicans, two Canadians, an Italian and a Croat, the Antwerp prosecutor’s office detailed on Monday.
Two people were killed and 13 people are still hospitalized the day after the accident. The vital prognosis is engaged for 5 of them. The driver was slightly injured.
In a press release, the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office said it had requested the temporary detention of the driver, a 35-year-old Frenchman, who must be presented to justice by Tuesday after his hearing by the federal police. An investigation has been opened for manslaughter, involuntary assault and battery, driving under the influence of drugs and lack of control of the vehicle.
After the accident, the driver of the vehicle underwent a saliva test for drug use which was positive. Nevertheless “a new analysis of blood and saliva should now make it possible to determine with more certainty whether he was driving under the influence”continued the prosecution.
The BlaBlacar platform said to itself “deeply touched“through drama.”Although drug checks are not legally required for the driver to start the bus (unlike what exists for alcohol), we apply strict procedures to select and check our bus partners“, she assured in a press release on Sunday.
Blablacar claims to have launched an investigation to understand the reasons for this accident.