School bus torn apart by bridge ‘after new driver lost his way’
TERRIFIED pupils leapt from the top of a double-decker school bus yesterday after it crashed into a railway bridge, tearing the roof off.
Three were seriously hurt while 12 suffered minor injuries.
Pupils claimed it was the first time they had seen the driver on the bus and that he had taken a different route from normal.
One said he thought the driver, who had been running around ten minutes late, missed a turning and decided to carry on instead of turning around.
Members of the public who went to the scene claimed children told them that they had shouted at the driver to tell him that the bridge was ‘too low’ and that he needed to ‘go back’.
More than 70 youngsters were on the bus at the time. In total five were taken to hospital following the collision in Winchester, Hampshire, at around 8.10am, as the bus made its way to Henry Beaufort School. None of those hurt suffered lifethreatening injuries.
The pupils – aged between 11 and 16 – were left ‘distressed, screaming and crying’ after the roof was sheared off the bus, operated by Stagecoach.
Last night officials said speed was unlikely to be an issue. Investigators would be looking at the ‘visibility and suitability’ of the approach to the bridge.
A video of the aftermath of the collision seen by the Daily Mail shows screaming children, covered in blood, desperately jumping from the top deck and fleeing from the scene. Jake Coates, 14, who was on the lower deck of the bus, said: ‘There was a loud bash and people were screaming. There was dust and glass everywhere. The people at the top of the bus were trapped and couldn’t come down the stairs.
‘Everyone was worried the bridge would collapse so they started jumping off the back of the bus and the people helping us caught them. Some were covered in blood and were crying. A lot of them had injuries to their heads. We were really shocked and thought we were going to die. My legs were shaking.’
Jake said it was the first time he had seen the driver, adding: ‘I think he was new to this route.
‘The bus had been ten minutes late picking up at my stop, the last one before the crash.’
His mother Caroline, who is a nurse, rushed to the scene from her home 100 yards away.
‘By the time I got there the kids were all off the bus and the driver was sat on the kerb with his head in his hands, clearly in shock,’ she said. ‘I started to help some of them and put bandages on from a first aid kit. It was mainly cuts to the head.
One student had injured their legs quite badly.’
Inspector Andy Tester, of Hampshire Police, said a further 57 children on the bus and the driver were unhurt.
Henry Beaufort School head teacher Sue Hearle said: ‘This is a distressing incident and we are extremely relieved it was not more serious.’
The driver was last night cooperating with the authorities.
Stagecoach South said: ‘We are carrying out an internal investigation and we will continue to provide the emergency services with our full support.’ ÷A busy road in central Bristol was closed last night after another double-decker bus hit a bridge, ripping off the roof. It is understood no passengers were on board at the time.
‘We thought we were going to die’