Edwards Coaches has praised the crashworthiness of the Mercedes-Benz Tourismo after one of the latest additions to its frontline tour fleet was involved in a Road Traffic Collision (RTC) in Switzerland on Friday (September 4).
One of the firm’s 10 15-plate Mercedes-Benz Tourismo tri-axles coaches was returning home to South Wales following a 10-day trip to Lake Como in Italy when it was involved RTC at about 1215hrs local time, 25 miles (40 km) from Zurich. According to Lucerne Police, the incident took place while the coach was at construction works on the A2 motorway at Eich when the vehicle was struck by a truck. That led to another lorry crashing into the back of the coach – pushing into another vehicle. Police said four lorries in total were involved in the incident, two from Switzerland, one from Poland and one from Slovakia.
They said the investigation into the crash was ongoing.
Jason Edwards, a Director of the family-run operator said: “The majority of those on the coach have been discharged from hospital, and they are being put up at a five-star hotel in Lucerne centre.”
Mr Edwards said his father, Mike, another director of the Llantwit Fardre-based firm, was also in Lucerne, which is the nearest city to the incident, and that they were being assisted by British consular staff.
Mr Edwards said that the vehicle was new, potentially saving lives: “It was a brand new Mercedes-Benz coach, with the latest safety improvements.Having been in the industry for such a length of time, I know if it had been an older vehicle, there could have been fatalities.”
