• Friday, 22 November 2024

Bus driver arrested after ten killed in crash in Croatia

Bus driver arrested after ten killed in crash in Croatia
Zagreb, 25 July 2021 (Hina/MIA) - The driver of the bus which skidded off the road near Slavonski Brod this morning, as a result of which ten persons have been killed, has been taken into custody after an on-the-scene investigation, the Slavonski Brod deputy municipal prosecutor, Slavko Pranjić, told the press on Sunday. Asked if the driver admitted that he had fallen asleep, which was why the vehicle skidded off the road, Pranjić said, "According to the information I have from the police on the scene, that's what he claims, but the circumstances will continue to be established." Pranjić said the investigation was continuing to instigate criminal proceedings against the driver who, he added, was currently suspected of committing a crime against traffic safety with serious consequences. As for what has been established in the on-the-scene investigation, he said the bus skidded off the road, that there were 69 passengers on board, ten were killed and so far 23 were established to have sustained serious or light injuries. Also, Health Minister Vili Beroš said that given an increase in calls following a serious bus crash, an information centre was established at the Slavonski Brod General Hospital which the families of those killed and injured could call at 035 201 111. Beroš said in a statement that "those injured are in the best hands at the Slavonski Brod General Hospital," and that the Kosovo ambassador and a translator were with them "so that we can make these difficult moments as easy as possible for them." The information centre collects all relevant information from the Civil Protection, the Brod-Posavina County police, the Croatian Red Cross and other medical services.