Over 20 injured in coach accident in North Rhine-Westphalia
More than 20 people were injured in a serious coach accident in North Rhine-Westphalia on Friday. This came just days after a deadly coach crash in Saxony.
On Good Friday, a double-decker coach came off the A4 motorway near Werl in North Rhine-Westphalia, drove into an embankment and overturned, police reported.
Twenty-one people were injured in the accident, with one sustaining serious but not life-threatening injuries. 39 passengers were unhurt.
The coach passengers were students from a vocational college in Warburg on the border with Hesse who were on their way back from a trip to England.
According to initial police findings, the accident was preceded by a medical emergency involving the 53-year-old coach driver. No other vehicles were involved in the accident.
The bus driver also received medical attention.
A police spokesperson said the driver was not physically injured in the accident, despite the bus's windshield being destroyed.
There was no evidence of alcohol consumption or drugs, said a police spokesman, adding that investigations were ongoing.
The North Rhine-Westphalia accident came just two days after a FlixBus double-decker coach left the road on the A9 motorway in Saxony, killing four people and injuring more than 30.
A 47-year-old Polish woman, a 20-year-old Indonesian woman living in Berlin and a 19-year-old from Bavaria died in the accident, the police announced on Thursday. The identity of the fourth woman has not yet been confirmed.
The public prosecutor's office is currently investigating the 62-year-old bus driver.
CDU transport politician Christoph Ploß called for action after the accident on the A9.
“I expect that the safety authorities will use this terrible event as an opportunity to put all processes to the test and from there draw conclusions for the safety of passengers. This applies to compliance with the legally required rest periods, but also to the sub-contractors who work for Flixbus. The safety of passengers must be the top priority," he said.
There have been a number of serious coach accidents in recent years. Nevertheless, they are a relatively safe means of transport: according to accident statistics, they are comparatively rarely involved in traffic accidents with personal injuries.
According to German automobile association ADAC, a total of eight people died in coach accidents inside and outside urban areas in 2022 – this number is not unusual when compared with long-term figures.
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On Good Friday, a double-decker coach came off the A4 motorway near Werl in North Rhine-Westphalia, drove into an embankment and overturned, police reported.
Twenty-one people were injured in the accident, with one sustaining serious but not life-threatening injuries. 39 passengers were unhurt.
The coach passengers were students from a vocational college in Warburg on the border with Hesse who were on their way back from a trip to England.
According to initial police findings, the accident was preceded by a medical emergency involving the 53-year-old coach driver. No other vehicles were involved in the accident.
The bus driver also received medical attention.
A police spokesperson said the driver was not physically injured in the accident, despite the bus's windshield being destroyed.
There was no evidence of alcohol consumption or drugs, said a police spokesman, adding that investigations were ongoing.
The North Rhine-Westphalia accident came just two days after a FlixBus double-decker coach left the road on the A9 motorway in Saxony, killing four people and injuring more than 30.
A 47-year-old Polish woman, a 20-year-old Indonesian woman living in Berlin and a 19-year-old from Bavaria died in the accident, the police announced on Thursday. The identity of the fourth woman has not yet been confirmed.
The public prosecutor's office is currently investigating the 62-year-old bus driver.
CDU transport politician Christoph Ploß called for action after the accident on the A9.
“I expect that the safety authorities will use this terrible event as an opportunity to put all processes to the test and from there draw conclusions for the safety of passengers. This applies to compliance with the legally required rest periods, but also to the sub-contractors who work for Flixbus. The safety of passengers must be the top priority," he said.
There have been a number of serious coach accidents in recent years. Nevertheless, they are a relatively safe means of transport: according to accident statistics, they are comparatively rarely involved in traffic accidents with personal injuries.
According to German automobile association ADAC, a total of eight people died in coach accidents inside and outside urban areas in 2022 – this number is not unusual when compared with long-term figures.
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