‘PEOPLE WERE CRYING AND SCREAMING’
Terrified passengers tell of the moment bus smashed into city store, killing two
PASSENGERS and witneses have told of their terror as a bus crashed in the city centre, killing two people.
The bus driver, who allegedly caused the crash by driving dangerously told police the brakes were not working.
Kailash Chander claimed that he pressed the brakes on the double decker bus but nothing happened as it accelerated towards, and then crashed in to, the Sainsbury’s store in Trinity Street.
He also told detectives that in his efforts to stop the bus he switched the engine off, but again to no avail.
Chander, 80, has been charged with causing the deaths of seven-year-old Rowan Fitzgerald and 76-year-old Dora Hancox by dangerous driving in the collision on October 3, 2015.
He is also accused of causing serious injury to two other people by dangerous driving.
Having been deemed unfit to stand trial, a ‘finding of facts’ trial is taking place at Birmingham Crown Court.
And in court yesterday, prosecutor Andrew Thomas read out statements made by terrified passengers on the bus.
One passenger, who was holding his young son while on the bus, said: “It seemed the driver had lost control. I told my wife to hold on as I was scared the bus was going to hit something.
“My daughter and wife were scared as they didn’t know what was going to happen.
“The bus was not stopping and hit a pole at some point and made a loud noise.
“People on the pavement were crying and screaming.”
Another eyewitness told police that she saw an elderly lady lying in the road near Sainsbury’s following the incident.
“I started to shout and ask for help,” the woman said in her statement.
She said she was joined by an off-duty medic who “tried to find a pulse but couldn’t”, before firefighters joined him to carry out CPR on the lady.
The court also heard the statement of Tile Portlock who had been heading to Sainsbury’s on October 3, 2015, and had stopped outside the smoke a cigarette when the incident happened.
“I heard a loud bang and said ‘what the f*** was that?,’” he said. “I could see a bus coming up the road. I think it hit a car or taxi and this caused it to change direction. “The bus started to come towards me and was gathering speed. When on the point of hitting a lamppost opposite Sainsbury’s I started screaming to everyone to run.” Mr Portlock said he was “showered” with glass from the bus windows as they smashed on impact with the supermarket. He punched windows of the bus through in a bid to help those inside and then learned that there were children “trapped upstairs”. Mr Portlock jumped through the emergency exit of the bus, the jury heard, before he tried to get up the stairs but was unable to get to the top deck due to the canopy of the store being inside the bus. He added in his statement: “I could see a man lying or sitting on the floor and holding a child’s hand.” Mr Portlock estimated that the bus was driving at “30 to 40 mph”. Yesterday, the jury also heard what was said in interviews with the police, Chander telling officers that after being at the bus stop in Hales Street, he checked his mirrors before indicating, ready to pull off, and then released the brake. He told police: “I passed the bus in front of me and then feel the accelerator.
“The bus is running out of control. I tried to put the footbrake on and it didn’t work.” He said that he went over the pavement and two flagpoles – “I then thought ‘oh my god.’ I couldn’t turn right as something was wrong with the steering,” said Chander.
After being questioned by detectives, Chander said that during the incident the bus was “revving up fast”, even after he took his foot off the accelerator, and he “switched the engine off as something was going wrong”.
A police officer asked: “So you pulled off slowly and put your foot on the accelerator and then took it off and it was still revving?”
Chander agreed and added: “It goes very fast all of a sudden.”
Following a break, Chander returned for the interview to continue but said he couldn’t remember what he had previously said to officers and the decision was made, on health grounds, to terminate the interview and continue another day. However, a medical assessment of Chander was carried out which deemed him “not medically fit for interview” and no more interviews took place.
Mr Thomas also told the jury about the post-mortem examinations carried out on the two victims.
While reading out a set of agreed facts, Mr Thomas stated that Dora Hancox, from Nuneaton, had suffered a large number of injuries, including “crush injuries”, and the cause of death was given as multiple injuries.
Leamington schoolboy Rowan Fitzgerald had also suffered multiple crush injuries and his cause of death was given as blunt head injuries.
In the witness box today was PC Andrew Salt, a member of West Midlands Police’s regional collision investigation unit.
He stated that analysis of CCTV footage from the crash site showed that the bus “rebounded” back from the Sainsbury’s store about one metre following the initial impact, before moving forward again up to the store and then coming to a halt.
PC Salt said this meant “the driver was still pressing the accelerator on initial impact and again when it rebounded and then engaged with the building for a second time”.
The collision investigator said his analysis led him to a decision that the bus was driving at around 20mph in Hales Street and Trinity Street and hit the supermarket at that speed.
PC Salt also stated that he concluded that as no brake lights were seen on the bus before it pulled off, the bus had remained in the drive gear when collecting passengers in Hales Street.
This is because if the bus had been in neutral when parked, the brake has to be pressed - causing the brake lights to come on – before it can be placed back in to drive.
Mr Thomas said that during his police interview, Chander had “claimed he had applied the parking brake when the bus stopped. In your opinion can that be correct?” “No,” replied PC Salt. Mr Thomas said: “Mr Chander claimed he tried to turn the engine off to disengage power. Any evidence of that taking place?” “No,” replied the officer. The prosecutor asked: “Who or what caused this bus to travel on this journey?”
PC Salt said: “Kailash Chander alone.”
When on the point of hitting the lamppost I stared screaming to everyone to run. Witness Tile Portlock