Volvo Cars guilty of manslaughter

Volvo denies the accident was as a result of faulty brakes

Swedish carmaker Volvo has been found guilty of manslaughter after a French court ruled that faulty brakes were to blame for a fatal car crash in France.

The driver, Catherine Kohtz, lost control of her Volvo 850 TDI vehicle and killed two children in 1999.

Ms Kohtz received a six-month suspended jail term, a 300-euro ($446; £224) fine. Her licence was also suspended for a year.

Volvo was fined 200,000 euros, though it has denied the car was faulty.

The accident occurred in June 1999, in the eastern French town of Wasselonne.

"This is a tragic incident for everyone involved," a company spokesman said.

"There was no problem with the brakes."

Volvo's lawyers rejected that the accident was the result of a mechanical defect and are expected to appeal against the ruling.

The car manufacturer, based in Gothenburg, is owned by US car giant Ford, which bought it in 1999.