Updated

Updated · RNZ · Aug 16

Polish Bus Crash in Hungary Kills 12, Driver Detained After 57-Passenger Coach Overturns

Updated

Updated · RNZ · Aug 16

Polish Bus Crash in Hungary Kills 12, Driver Detained After 57-Passenger Coach Overturns

Q: What really caused a bus of Polish pilgrims to veer off a straight highway, killing 12 in Hungary's deadliest crash in decades?

The most likely cause was driver fatigue: Hungarian police say preliminary findings indicate the driver probably fell asleep at the wheel. The bus left a straight section of the M3 motorway near Mezőkeresztes around 1 a.m., went into a roadside ditch and overturned, a pattern consistent with a fatigue-related loss of control rather than a sudden evasive maneuver. That said, the cause is not yet definitive. Investigators in Hungary, with Polish authorities also involved, are examining other possibilities including the driver becoming unwell, technical failure, speed, the drivers’ work-and-rest schedule, and which of the two drivers was at the wheel at the moment of the crash. The driver survived and was taken into custody for questioning. What is established is that the coach was carrying Polish pilgrims returning from Bosnia and Herzegovina, likely Medjugorje, with 57 passengers and two drivers on board. Twelve people died — 11 at the scene and one in hospital — making it Hungary’s deadliest road crash in more than two decades. Dozens of others were injured, with emergency crews having to pull some passengers out through shattered windows and free others trapped beneath the bus. The bus operator’s owner said both drivers were experienced, but that does not rule out fatigue on an overnight international route. Until forensic, mechanical and tachograph evidence is reviewed, the sleep-at-the-wheel theory remains the leading explanation, not a final finding.

3 articles · Updated · RNZ · Aug 16

Twelve people died and at least 10 were injured after a Polish-registered bus overturned before dawn Sunday on Hungary's M3 motorway near Mezokeresztes.
Police said the coach veered off a straight stretch of road into a ditch while heading toward Nyiregyhaza, and preliminary information suggests the driver likely fell asleep.
The bus was carrying 57 passengers and two drivers, MTI reported; the injured were taken to hospital and police said the driver was taken into custody.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki called the crash tragic, while Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said consular services were activated and remained in contact with Hungarian authorities.