the driver, positive for cocaine, was indicted and imprisoned

The vehicle was also driving without mandatory technical inspection and its speed recorder was deactivated, according to the prosecution.

The driver of the coach who left the road in Porté-Puymorens (Pyrénées-Orientales), killing two passengers, was indicted and placed in pre-trial detention, the Marseille prosecutor's office announced on Saturday December 7. The driver has tested positive for traces of cocaine, said the same source. The vehicle was also driving without mandatory technical inspection and its speed recorder was deactivated, added the prosecution.

An investigation was opened on Wednesday, notably for “involuntary homicide by deliberate violation of a particular obligation of prudence or safety”. The investigations were entrusted to the Prades gendarmerie and the research section of the Montpellier gendarmerie. The investigation also concerns acts of unintentional injury and endangering the lives of others.

The coach left its lane and hit a cliff on Sunday December 1 around 5 p.m., on a mountain road at an altitude of more than 1,600 meters. The vehicle, one side of which was torn off by friction against the rock wall, appears to have crossed the road to hit the cliff. Forty-eight people were on board. Two died and several were hospitalized, including the driver, who was very seriously injured in the accident.