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14 August 2007
MADRID – The driver of a coach in which five people died when it veered off the highway and overturned in southern Spain was sober at the time of the accident, police said on Tuesday.
The accident happened Monday afternoon near the town of Lopera in the province of Jaen, about 350 kilometres south of Madrid. Forty-five people were injured and six were listed in serious condition at local hospitals.
Following the negative results of the alcohol test on the driver, a police spokesman said investigators would now focus on how fast the coach was travelling at the time of the crash.
They were also investigating a report that the driver was fiddling with the radio when the coach entered the sharp curve before veering off the highway.
Television news footage showed the coach overturned in an olive grove and rescue teams treating passengers on at the scene. The passengers, all Spaniards, were on a trip to the southern region of Andalucia.
The vehicle was a 50-seat coach travelling from Madrid to Jerez de la Frontera, fire department spokesman Juan Carlos de Dios said on private TV station CNN+.
(Copyright AP and EFE with Expatica)
Subject: Spanish News