The driver of a coach which crashed in France killing a schoolgirl says he is "deeply sorry" for what happened.
But Mark Chisholm insisted that he did not fall asleep at the wheel of the coach before it overturned on a sliproad from the A6 motorway near Dijon, central France.
Mr Chisholm has been charged with manslaughter by French prosecutors over the crash in which 15-year-old Katherine Fish died.
Jean-Pierre Alacchi, the state prosecutor for Dijon, said Mr Chisholm was also being charged with several counts of involuntary wounding in relation to the accident.
In an interview with the Scotsmannewspaper, 31-year-old Mr Chisholm, from Edinburgh, said: "I am deeply sorry for what happened.
"I have a teenage daughter of my own and I cannot imagine what the parents of the girl who died are going through.
But he added: "I definitely did not fall asleep at the wheel. I told the doctors and the police that as soon as I was able to talk to them."
Once he has been discharged from hospital, Mr Chisholm will be free to leave the country pending further inquiries.
Under French law, fatal road accidents commonly result in manslaughter prosecutions. Convictions generally carry lesser sentences than in manslaughter or culpable homicide cases in the UK.
Six children aged between 12 and 15, who suffered serious but not critical injuries, as well as three teachers, were kept in France for a second night.
PA
