FlixBus driver given suspended sentence over deadly crash in Germany

Nearly two years after a long-distance coach crash near the eastern German city of Leipzig that killed four people, the driver has been given a two-year suspended prison sentence.

The Eilenburg District Court on Friday found the 64-year-old driver guilty of four counts of negligent homicide and 25 counts of negligent bodily harm.

Presiding judge Steve Eidner said the driver had briefly failed to pay sufficient attention to the road. The ruling followed the recommendation of prosecutors, while the defence had asked for a "lenient and proportionate" sentence.

The double-decker coach, operated by FlixBus and carrying 53 passengers and two drivers, crashed on March 27, 2024, while travelling from Berlin to Zurich.

The bus began to skid at around 100 kilometres per hour on the A9 motorway north of Leipzig, veered off the road, tore through bushes and small trees along the embankment and eventually overturned onto its side.

Four women were killed. Forty-six passengers were injured, some of them seriously.

Prosecutors argued that the driver had failed to exercise the level of care required in traffic and had thereby caused the crash. Through his lawyer, the driver acknowledged responsibility.

According to the defence, the sun had been glaring and the driver briefly reached down to grab a cap when he lost control of the bus.

"He is incredibly sorry for what happened. He would like to turn back time, but he cannot," Defence lawyer Peter Pospisil said of his client, who is from the Czech Republic.