Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
CRASH DRIVER DIED SAVING PASSENGERS
Man sacrificed his life in Alps blaze, inquest told
A HERO bus driver died in a “complete inferno” in the Alps after sacrificing himself to save the lives of his passengers.
Maurice Wrightson was descending the D211 road near the French ski resort Alpe d’huez with a coach full of 52 Brits when, as he neared the 21st hairpin bend, the brakes failed.
He chose to smash into boulders rather than attempt the corner, knowing it was likely to kill him but save passengers, an inquest heard.
As flames engulfed the coach, the British resort staff clambered through broken windows, with one woman set on fire.
Investigators concluded Maurice, 63, had “undoubtedly prevented” multiple casualties if the bus had left the road.
Co-driver Nathan Woodland, 39, who also worked for County Durham-based Classic Coaches, described his colleague as “a very good driver”. He said Maurice, of Ashington, Northumberland, felt the bus “twitch” as he negotiated a chicane.
“He’d a very shocked look. He said, ‘It’s not stopping us.’ The coach was not decelerating. I stepped into the aisle and shouted, ‘Grab a hold’,” Nathan told the hearing in Berwick-upon-tweed. Flames erupted after the crash and emergency crews arrived 25 minutes later, with four people badly hurt.
A French report said the cause of the April 16, 2013 tragedy had been the main brake failing, adding: “The pads had been completely destroyed by excessive heating.”
The jury heard this was a result of the hydraulic retarder’s “poor condition”.
At the time, French transport minister Frederic Cuvillier said: “The driver showed remarkable courage.”
Alpe D’huez is the most famous cycle climb in the world, with 21 switchbacks. It rises more than eight miles to 6,100ft.
The inquest continues.
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