Schoolgirl killed in field trip bus crash

A14-YEAR-OLD girl has died after a minibus carrying school pupils on a field trip collided with a bin lorry.

The teenager was on a bus carrying 21 students from John Taylor High School in Staffordshire which crashed on the A38 Kingsbury Road in Birmingham at around 9am yesterday.

A second teenage girl was taken to hospital with minor injuries and others were treated at the scene in the Castle Vale area of the city, emergency services said.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said the dead girl “suffered serious injuries in the collision and unfortunately it immediately became apparent that nothing could be done to save her and she was confirmed dead at the scene”.

The bus was also carrying four adults – the driver and three teachers, West Midlands Police said.

No arrests have been made; however, police said that both drivers were assisting with the “detailed and thorough” investigation.

Superintendent Dean Hatton, head of the central motorway police group (CMPG), said emergency services were called to “an extremely tragic incident” on the road yesterday morning, which would have been busy with rushhour traffic.

Speaking to reporters at the scene, he said: “Unfortunately, it became clear nothing could be done at the scene to save the life of the young girl and she was pronounced dead.

“Next-of-kin have been informed and I’ve got specialist officers with the family now to support them at this very difficult time.

“We’ve been in close contact with our colleagues at Staffordshire Police and been liaising with the head teacher at the John Taylor High School and all relevant support is being provided by the school and by our colleagues.”

Asked if the pupils were wearing seat-belts, he replied: “That will be part of our investigation and, at the moment, I can’t confirm whether or not pupils were wearing seatbelts.”

He said he would not speculate on the cause of the collision.

At the scene a detailed forensic examination was under way to try to establish exactly how the bin lorry and the small coach came together.

Damage to the waste truck’s front end was visible. The rear right-hand portion of the minibus had been covered over with a green tarpaulin.