Bus crashes into London shop in driver ‘blackout’
TWO passengers were rescued after being trapped on the upper deck of a bus after it smashed into a shop in a busy London high street.
A total of 10 people were injured when the vehicle hit the building in Lavender Hill, near Clapham Junction railway station, in south-west London, shortly before 7am yesterday. One passenger reported that the driver said he “blacked out” before the collision.
Another recalled how passengers began screaming as smoke emerged from underneath the vehicle and there was “a lot of blood” as a woman was trapped.
A London Ambulance Service spokeswoman said three people – including the driver – were taken to hospital. Two were described as “priority” cases in a stable condition and one had minor injuries. Seven others were treated at the scene.
The bus crashed into the front of the Poggenpohl Kitchen Design Centre, which was closed at the time.
Glass lay shattered across the ground as paramedics tended to people on the top deck.
Firefighters with cutting gear appeared to be trying to cut trapped passengers free.
The bus was the number 77 travelling towards London Waterloo.
Andrew Matthews, 34, of Wandsworth Town, said he was one of around a dozen on board.
He told the Press Association: “I was on the top floor at the back.
“I noticed the bus drifting. I heard a smash and saw the roof of the shop going through (the bus) from the front left. It went to the fourth or fifth row. I wedged myself in, bracing myself.
“As soon as the bus came to a stop there was yelling, screaming.”