Driver in French bus crash told police he may have been drowsy Pupils lay tributes to Peter Rippington, the head of mathematics at Alvechurch middle school, who died in the coach crash. The driver of a coach that crashed in France while bringing a group of British schoolchildren and their adult supervisors home from an Italian ski trip has "no recollection" of the accident in which a teacher died but conceded he may have been drowsy, French prosecutors have said. The driver, who was named in reports as Derek Thompson, 47, is being investigated over an allegation of involuntary homicide. He was released following an appearance before a judge in Châlons-en-Champagne and is returning to England on condition that he will return to a French court at a later date. Peter Rippington, 59, the head of mathematics at Alvechurch middle school in Worcestershire, died in the crash on Sunday while dozens of children were injured when the coach flipped over and plunged to the bottom of a motorway embankment in the Champagne-Ardenne region. The driver suffered only minor injuries. Initial tests showed he was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Police have been investigating whether he might have fallen asleep at the wheel of the coach, which was carrying 29 pupils from the Worcestershire school. A prosecutor, Christian de Rocquigny, said after the court hearing: "In his presentation before a judge late Monday afternoon, the driver explained that he had no recollection of the circumstances of the accident. While in custody, after denying falling asleep, the driver acknowledged that it was possible that he was drowsy. De Rocquigny also said that witnesses in the area saw the coach repeatedly swerve towards a verge and a tachograph indicated some unexplained variations in speed in the nine minutes before the accident. A 13-year-old girl who was critically injured has been transferred for surgery to the Necker children's hospital in Paris. The Foreign Office said most of the 49 British nationals who were on the coach had returned to the UK, although seven people remained in hospital in France. Rippington was described as a "dedicated and inspirational teacher" in a statement by Bryan Maybee, the chairman of school's governors. "He will be so sadly missed by all those who knew him," he said. A statement from Rippington's family expressed concern about the health of his wife, Sharon, who was injured and is still recovering in hospital in France, accompanied by their daughter, Amy, who escaped with minor injuries. "We, as a family, are devastated at the tragic loss of Peter, a wonderful husband, father, son, brother, son-in-law, brother-in-law, uncle, friend and teacher," it said. A Foreign Office spokesman said it was continuing to provide consular support in France.