Two people were killed and 33 others injured after a bus with Serbian license plates crashed and overturned on a highway in Croatia on Sunday morning, November 8. Among the victims was a teenage girl from Montenegro, Croatian authorities confirmed.
The accident occurred at approximately 7:24 a.m. on the A3 motorway near Ivanić-Grad, east of Zagreb. The bus was traveling toward the Croatian capital when it struck a metal safety barrier and overturned beside the road.
According to Croatia’s State Attorney’s Office, the victims were a Croatian woman and a Montenegrin girl born in 2009.
Six passengers suffered serious injuries, while another 27 sustained minor injuries, authorities said.
The bus was carrying 33 passengers and two drivers.
What Investigators Have Established
Croatian prosecutors released preliminary findings on Sunday evening after completing an examination of the crash site.
According to the official report, a Serbian citizen born in 1971 was driving the bus along the right-hand lane of the A3 motorway.
Near the 61.2-kilometer mark, the vehicle moved onto the emergency lane and struck a metal guardrail.
The impact caused the bus to tilt and leave the roadway. It then overturned on a grassy area beside the highway.
Investigators have established the sequence of events but have not yet determined why the driver left the marked traffic lane.
The State Attorney’s Office has ordered autopsies of the two victims and announced further expert examinations to establish the circumstances of the crash.
Although some media reports cited claims about driver fatigue, authorities have not confirmed that fatigue caused the accident.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Emergency Teams Respond as Croatia and Serbia Coordinate
The crash prompted a major emergency response involving firefighters, medical teams, police officers and a medical helicopter.
Croatian emergency services transported injured passengers to several hospitals in Zagreb.
The Croatian Ministry of Health confirmed that six people suffered serious injuries and 27 sustained minor injuries.
Medical teams assessed passengers at the scene before transferring them for hospital treatment.
Croatian firefighters reported that 15 firefighters and seven fire engines participated in the initial response, alongside emergency medical personnel and police.
Serbian diplomatic representatives also visited injured passengers receiving treatment in Zagreb.
Dejana Peruničić, Serbia’s chargé d’affaires in Croatia, thanked Croatian authorities and emergency workers for assisting the victims.
She confirmed that neither of the two people killed in the accident was a Serbian citizen.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković expressed condolences to the victims’ families.
The accident also prompted communication between Croatian and Serbian officials as authorities coordinated assistance for the injured.
The A3 motorway is an important international transport route connecting Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia.
It carries passenger buses, private vehicles and commercial traffic between several Balkan countries and Western Europe.
The crash has affected families across the region, with victims and passengers from multiple countries.
Croatian authorities are continuing their investigation to establish the precise cause of the accident.
