2023-12-20 10:47:00
Yesterday evening, a pedestrian was hit by a bus along the Parc des Récollets in Huy. The man died. The bus was traveling on the Compiègne quay when it turned to its right, to go up the Récollets park and head towards the station. As the vehicle was turning, a pedestrian reportedly rushed to cross the roadway in front of it. He would have slipped and fallen. Then he was allegedly hit by the bus. The driver realized the accident and immediately stopped his bus. And very quickly, the police and firefighters were on site. Nothing could be done to save the unfortunate man.
What do we know today about the victim? Not much actually. It appears to be a man, aged between 20 and 30, and that he was undocumented. The police now have an idea of who it could be but without any confirmation of his identity. The bus driver was questioned by the police before being taken care of by his superiors.
Immediate support
The TEC will not say more about the accident, about the circumstances because “the file is under analysis, explains Stéphane Thiery, spokesperson for the TEC. In this type of situation, we are bound by secrecy, we do not reveals nothing, but everything is analyzed.” The images from the cameras have been recovered, there is also the testimony of the driver as well as witnesses. “We must understand what happened on the basis of objective facts,” explains the spokesperson.
In such a case, when a TEC bus driver is involved in one way or another in an accident, whatever it may be, there is direct operational support. Each bus driver is in almost permanent contact with his dispatcher, both for accidents and for other situations such as assault or threats. “We have a device in each bus which allows the driver to be directly in contact with the dispatching which works 24 hours a day, in any case when the buses are running, explains Stéphane Thiery. Automatically, the driver is in contact with the dispatching which hears everything and sees, via a camera system, everything that happens on the bus.” And it’s recorded. “The driver is never alone. But he is alone at the wheel and on the road. This is the great complexity of being a road user in an imposing vehicle, with a load of customers and on a public road. But our drivers are trained for this.” And in any emergency procedure, drivers are accompanied. As soon as the driver calls dispatching, controllers come to meet him and then manage the situation. It is this same dispatching which launches the call for help, which calls for the necessary assistance. “With the police, we also have emergency call procedures.”
And the passengers?
When a bus driver is involved in a difficult situation, the TEC also offers psychological support. “There is support from a psychologist.” Hey, what about the passengers on the bus involved in an accident, whatever it may be? It all depends on the fact. If a driver brakes too suddenly because of an obstacle on the road and one of his passengers falls and is injured, “we will contact the passenger in order to prepare a file to deal with the insurance companies”. And in a case like Tuesday evening, along the Parc des Récollets in Huy, does the TEC offer psychological support to bus passengers? “There will be no psychological support offered. We will not intervene.”
What state of mind is the unfortunate driver in today? Stéphane Thiery won’t say much about it even if “in an event like this, whatever it is, it’s very, very hard to live with. And it’s very special support that is offered. We cannot emerge unscathed from such an incident with such dramatic consequences…”
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