Bus crash kills 3, injures dozens
A head-on collision between a bus and a truck near the northern city of Veria yesterday morning killed three people – the drivers of the two vehicles and a priest – and left another 31, including six children, with minor injuries. The crash occurred at about 9.30 a.m. some 45 kilometers outside Veria, on the highway linking the city to Thessaloniki. According to witnesses, the truck, which had been carrying livestock fodder, veered out of its lane and into the oncoming bus, amid heavy rain. Traffic police said they believed the slippery road surface probably provoked the accident but also blamed the bad condition of the truck and the excessive speed at which the two vehicles had been traveling. The 43-year-old bus driver and a 54-year-old priest, one of his passengers, were killed instantly, as was the driver of the truck, whose age was not made public. Doctors at a hospital in Veria said the injured passengers, including six minors aged under 17, were not seriously hurt.
