4 people were taken to hospital after a bus operated by the Flemish public transport company De Lijn crashed head-on into a tractor in the Flemish Brabant municipality of Ternat. Following the collision that happened at around 7am on Wednesday the bus driver tested positive for cocaine.
Bus driver tests positive for cocaine after head-on collision with a tractor in Ternat
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The accident happened on Wednesday morning at around 7 am on Terlindenstraat in Ternat. The 213 bus was on route between Aalst (East Flanders) and the Simonis metro station in Koekelberg (Brussels).
Suddenly the bus veered onto the wrong side of the road, crashing at speed into a tractor that was being driven in the opposite direction. The bus collided head-on with the tractor and the farmer was ejected from the tractor’s cab.
The impact of the crash was severe. The tyre on the tractor’s front wheel was destroyed and the tractor’s rear wheel snapped in two. The front of the bus also was badly damaged.
The tractor driver and passengers that were on the bus sustained minor injuries and had to be taken to hospital. The bus driver received hospital treatment on injuries to his hand. A saliva test revealed that he was driving under the influence of cocaine. His driving licence was immediately suspended for fifteen days. He will have to appear before a magistrates’ court at a later date.
De Lijn says that it cannot confirm that the driver had taken drugs. The Flemish public transport company’s spokesman Jens Van Herp told VRT news that “That is a personal matter. However, we can say that we are cooperating with the investigation. The CCTV footage from the bus has been handed over to the police. It is a miracle that the driver was not more seriously injured.”