after a bus carrying ski resort staff home from work crashed and burst into flames in the French Alps yesterday. More than 50 employees were on the bus, operated by Britain-based Classic Coaches, when it apparently had a problem with its brakes, causing it to veer off the road into some rocks.
According to The Independent, the 64-year-old English driver who died in the accident is credited with a life-saving maneuver:
The accident … took place as the vehicle approached the last of 21 hairpin bends on the notorious mountain road leading down from the Alpe d’Huez ski resort.
“The driver showed remarkable courage. The witnesses all agree that his acts and his attitude meant a much heavier loss of life was avoided,” said Mr Cuvillier.
Marcus Beauchamp, whose brother Matthew was one of the passengers on the coach, said: “The driver saved everyone’s life by steering into the tree rather than go over the edge. He was a hero.”
A number of passengers escaped by jumping out the windows of the bus. The driver’s name has not yet been released.