A bus driver has admitted pressing the accelerator instead of the brake in a crash that killed two women and injured 22 others at the Agualva-Cacém transport terminal in Sintra on Tuesday morning. The victims were waiting at a bus stop near the railway station when the Carris Metropolitana vehicle struck a pillar shortly before 10 a.m. Among the wounded, four remain in serious condition, with others treated at hospitals in Lisbon and Amadora-Sintra.
Operator Viação Alvorada announced an internal inquiry and pledged full cooperation with authorities, while defending its maintenance records and driver training programmes.
Transportes Metropolitanos de Lisboa, which contracts the route, said it would await the findings of the official investigation before drawing conclusions, noting that fleet maintenance is the responsibility of contracted operators.