A car crashed into a bus stop in the center of the Slovak capital Bratislava – at least five people died.
One patient is still in danger of death, police said Monday afternoon. For the other four injured, doctors classified their condition as no longer critical. In the accident on Monday night, especially students who wanted to take the bus to their boarding schools died. According to police, the driver was drunk.
According to the police, there were several people at the bus stop on the edge of the historic center waiting for buses to go to Petrzalka, the most populous district south of the Danube. Photos from the crash site showed how rescuers were tending to the injured. The bus stop was isolated over a wide area.
Slovak police chief Stefan Hamran and Interior Minister Roman Mikulec confirmed that the driver was under the influence of alcohol. One test showed 1.69 per thousand blood alcohol. After the accident, he also behaved aggressively towards police and rescue workers. He was arrested. According to reports, the man is a senior sports official. His association did not directly confirm this, but regretted the event in a statement published by the TASR news agency.
President Zuzana Caputova combined her condolences with an appeal to avoid drinking alcohol while driving, so as not to cause unhappiness and sadness. Other politicians also addressed the driver’s being under the influence of alcohol in their condolences.