Trial Begins for Fatal Spanish Bus Crash That Killed 9, Including Moroccan Vacationers

The accident was caused by a bus from the company and had caused 9 deaths, including many Moroccans, a little over ten years ago. In addition to these deaths caused by the Autocares Meroño bus accident on August 17, 2008 in Oropesa del Mar, Spain, 45 injuries had been recorded. Mostly Maghrebians, all the victims were returning from vacations spent in Morocco.

Negligence is being blamed on the two accused, according to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, which reports the prosecutor’s words: "The company had not observed the appropriate measures in terms of preservation and maintenance." Moreover, the vehicle’s tires "were not in good condition, which caused the bursting of the front left tire and the sudden loss of the trajectory followed by the vehicle, which prevented the driver from guiding it properly, ran on the road in the opposite direction of traffic and hit the vertical slope."

The maintenance manager of Autocares Meroño rejects the prosecutor’s analysis and specifies that the vehicle had undergone a technical inspection in April 2008 and, according to El Mundo, a few days before the accident, the bus had been inspected.