Avenir Foot Lozère youth team in mini-bus accident, 1 dead & 11 injured

The French football community is in mourning today following the death of a 26-year-old man from Rodez who was driving a mini-bus accident that occurred on Sunday 14th May at around 20:00 local time, according to Centre Presse Aveyron.

Two mini-buses were carrying a youth team, from the club l’Avenir Foot Lozère, with the accident occurring in La Loubière, an area near Rodez. The majority of teenagers involved in the accident were 13.

The driver of one of the mini-buses, which had 9 minors onboard, lost control of the bus, which slid towards a ditch, with the driver not being able to regain control of the vehicle. An investigation has been opened to understand what caused this horrible tragedy to occur.

The accident also caused several minor injuries to up to 11 other individuals, including to two 13-year-old teenagers, who were in relatively severe condition. One of them, stuck in one of the minibuses, had to be freed. Regarding the other teenagers, the latest news was reassuring as to their health status on Monday night.

A total of 14 emergency service workers were dispatched to the scene on Sunday night from both Rodez and Laissac.

Note: while the initial news report affirmed that the individual who passed away was 27, verification checks carried out by Get French Football News have confirmed that the individual in question was a 26-year-old called Antonin, who coached the players.

According to France 3 Occitanie, on Monday morning, all of the teenagers, except one, had been discharged from hospital. The teenager still receiving care has suffered several fractures but is no longer in a life-threatening condition.

James Thorpe | GFFN