Thu Apr 7, 2005 07:12 PM BST
RABAT (
Reuters) - A Moroccan court has charged a British woman with involuntary homicide over a road accident that killed eight French tourists last week, judicial and diplomatic sources say.
Maureen White, born in 1953, was driving a car that was in collision with a bus packed with French tourists near the city of Taroudant, 440 miles south of the capital Rabat. Thirteen other bus passengers were seriously hurt in the crash.
She faces up to five years in jail if found guilty of the charges, a Taroudant court official said on Thursday.
"The Taroudant prosecutor heard Mrs White on Monday and an examining magistrate charged her on Thursday over her involvement in the accident," a Taroudant court official told Reuters.
He declined to say when her trial is due to begin.
A British Embassy spokesman in Rabat said White had been held in police custody since Monday.
"Charges against Mrs White include involuntary homicide, excessive speed and dangerous driving. Our Casablanca consul general and her husband remain with her," the spokesman said.
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