Fourth fatality identified after Flixbus accident in Germany, Australia: seven-year-old finds 9,000 francs gem on his own doorstep

Almost a week after the serious bus accident on the German A9 motorway near Leipzig, the identity of the fourth fatality has also been established.

It concerns a 43-year-old woman from Ukraine, the spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service in Leipzig, Ricardo Schulz, announced on Tuesday upon request. The double-decker Flixbus with 54 passengers on board left the road en route from Berlin to Zurich last Wednesday and fell on its side.

Four women were killed, including a 47-year-old Polish woman, a 20-year-old Indonesian woman living in Berlin and a 19-year-old from Bavaria. 30 other people were injured, some seriously.

The Public Prosecution Service is investigating the bus driver. The 62-year-old is charged with negligent homicide and negligent bodily harm. The spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service cannot say whether the man has already been interrogated. He was also unable to provide further information about the cause of the accident. “Everything is upside down”Schulz emphasizes.

The serious accident has also reignited the discussion about the mandatory wearing of seat belts in coaches. According to the Association of Central German Bus Companies, this is difficult to enforce. The drivers would indicate this at the start of the journey and after breaks and there will be signs at the places, said association boss Mario König on Tuesday “MDR Aktuell”. However, control is simply not possible for the bus driver.

A spokesperson for the Dresden police added that those who refuse to wear a seat belt on the bus are more difficult to catch. The check is usually carried out on the spot as you drive by. The technical possibilities are also limited. A belt disconnection sensor, such as is often installed in modern cars, would be theoretically possible, but it would sound an alarm every time the passenger goes to the toilet. Therefore, just like in airplanes, this technology is not practical.

When asked on Tuesday, the spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service in Leipzig said that the investigation also focused on whether the passengers on the bus were wearing seat belts. (rbu/sda/dpa)