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A coach carrying 47 British holidaymakers home after a skiing trip crashed in northern France early Sunday, killing one passenger and injuring 24, officials said.
One teenager was said to be in critical condition and two others and an adult were seriously injured, a spokesman official said.
The fatality was a 61-year-old man, according to the regional road authority.
Twenty-two passengers were treated for shock.
The British coach carrying around 30 adults and 20 children was the only vehicle involved in the accident, which happened around 3:00 am (0200 GMT) on the A 26 motorway near Chalone-en-Champagne on the road between Troyes and the port of Calais.
The coach was on its way back to Birmingham in central England from Italy’s popular Valle d’Aosta skiing region.
The driver was slightly injured and tested negatively for drink or drugs, magistrate Christian de Rocquigny said, adding that he would be detained when he left hospital. It was believed he may have fallen asleep at the wheel.