Nine hurt as bus slams into city-centre supermarket

Two dead, one 'critical' and six others hurt after double-decker slams into supermarket



Two people have been killed and seven injured in hospital - one critical - including a child after a double-decker bus lost control and ploughed into a Sainsbury's store in the middle of a busy city centre.

The Stagecoach bus crashed into the front of the store in Coventry city centre on Saturday night at 6pm.

Witnesses watched in horror as several shoppers were knocked down by the bus as it careered into the shop.

Two people have confirmed dead with another fighting for life in hospital following the crash.

West Midlands Police said: "We are dealing with two fatalities. The relatives of those who hae died do now know."

Five people have been taken to University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire for treatment while a child has been taken to Birmingham Children's Hospital.

The driver is not one of the dead and no arrests have been made.

West Midlands Police said a number of people were also trapped on top deck of the bus.

Eyewitness Amanda Storer, 34, a teacher, had just finished her shopping when the incident happened.

"I'd just done some shopping and was walking towards the car park when I heard lots of screaming and a honking of a horn," she said.

"I don't know if the driver was trying to warn people to get out the way but it sounded like it hit the store with some force.

"From where I was all I could hear was smashing windows and screaming.

"I ran back to see if I could help because I've got St John's Ambulance First Aid and I saw a man crying. Someone said his wife had been hit.

"Within minutes the whole place was in lock down with police cars and ambulances. It was chaos."

A video posted on Twitter shows the bus with its windows smashed as people scream and try to help people who are trapped.

One woman screams "oh my God, there is a kid pushing through the seat" as locals try to help those caught up in the crash.

Police say the bus had crashed into stationary cars.

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: "The bus was travelling along Hale Street when it collided with a number of stationary cars and a lamppost before crashing into Sainsburys on Trinity Street at 6pm.

"A number of people were trapped on the top of the double decker; three people are seriously injured and five other people have more minor injuries.

"West Midlands Police is working with fellow emergency services including Fire and Ambulance.

"There is a cordon in place while an investigation has been launched to establish the circumstances surrounding the collision.

"There are a number of road closures in place and buses are currently unable to drive into the city centre."

Three ambulances, two emergency doctors, three rapid response vehicles and staff from the Hazardous Area Response Team attended the scene.

A spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance said: "West Midlands Ambulance Service can confirm it was called to Sainsbury's in Coventry City Centre at 6pm today.

"A bus had collided with the front of the supermarket building.

"Currently six people have been taken or are being taken to hospital. Further details on these casualties will follow.

"Two people have been assessed and discharged at the scene."

Witness Harron Mota, 29, a youth worker from Coventry, said: "It was horrific, absolute carnage.

"My friend saw an old woman get hit. It was terrible. The city was really busy at that time of night with shoppers.

"God knows what happened but it is a terrible tragedy. Several passengers on the bus and shoppers inside at the time were trapped."

A Sainsbury's spokeswoman said: "I can confirm that earlier this evening a bus mounted the pavement in Trinity Place, stopping when it made contact with the store.

"We can confirm that we have no colleagues injured. We are working on the ground with the emergency services."

The spokeswoman confirmed the store was open at the time of the crash but was unable to say whether any customers had been injured.

Eyewitness Maneer Fiaz told Sky News the crash was "absolute mayhem".

He said: "I was getting some food from the shop opposite and I heard a loud bang. I looked outside the shop ... and saw people running towards the scene.

"I came outside the shop and saw the bus was smashed into the cashpoint. I ran towards the driver and he was surprisingly alive. People were trying to get the driver out. The kids were trapped underneath the seats upstairs. It was absolute chaos.

"We got the driver out through the window.

"People were just running towards the scene trying to help people get out. The only thing on people's minds was the two kids stuck on the top, they couldn't get out of the bus. People were just waiting for the ambulance service to come."

Tragic.

I was shopping there just two nights ago, the whole area was a mess with roadworks everywhere.

Police statement

West Midlands Police has tonight confirmed two people have died after a double decker bus collided with a Coventry supermarket this evening (Saturday 3 October).

An eight-year-old boy from Leamington, who was travelling on the top of the bus, died at the scene as a result of his injuries. A woman from Nuneaton, believed to be in her 70s who was a pedestrian in Trinity Street, also died at the scene. Specialist officers are supporting the families at this time.

The collision occurred at 6pm this evening after the bus travelled along Hale Street colliding with a number of stationary cars and a lamppost before crashing into Sainsbury’s supermarket.

Five other people suffered minor injuries and are receiving hospital treatment, one further person was treated and discharged at the scene.

A cordon remains in place while an investigation continues to establish the circumstances around the collision. There are a number of road closures in place and buses are currently unable to drive into the city centre.

Superintendent Paul Keasey, head of the Central Motorway Police Group, said: “Our thoughts are with those affected by this evening’s tragic event; we have specially trained officers with the families at this difficult time.

“We hope to carry out a swift investigation and I would like to thank people who have already come forward who witnessed the collision.

“This is a busy area of Coventry city centre and we hope to keep disruption to a minimum as our investigation continues; no-one has been arrested at this stage.”

Anyone with information, or anyone who may be concerned about relatives, should contact police on 101.

They later added: A 9 y/o girl also travelling on the top deck of the bus is seriously ill in hospital.

This demonstrates the fragility of human life. Here one minute, gone the next. It really is so sad.

My heartfelt condolences to the relatives of the deceased.

Bus was travelling at 60mph, says eyewitness

The double-decker bus which killed an eight-year-old boy and an elderly woman was travelling at up to 60mph before it smashed into a supermarket, an eyewitness has claimed.

A taxi driver who watched the X18 Stagecoach career out of control told how it "roared past" traffic at up to three times the city centre speed limit.

The taxi driver who did not want to be named said he was in his cab waiting for fares when he noticed the bus in his rear mirror.

"It veered across the road and mounted the pavement and went over some grass," he said.

"It hit a lamppost and shifted so it was pointing right at Sainsbury's then it just went in a straight line, very fast.

"It travelled for about 100 metres and I would say it was travelling at 50mph or 60mph. I think the speed limit is 20mph. It was about a metre away from my cab door.

"I panicked and ran and then I heard the crash. It is so terrible. I am still in shock."

I somehow doubt that the bus was doing 60mph.

From The old grammar school to where the bus finished up isn't long enough to reach such speeds is it? And I think a 60mph impact would do far more damage to the bus and the building than appears from the pictures I've seen.

I would suggest that this is a rather 'inaccurate' eye-witness account.

Teenager tells of desperate bid to save passengers



A hero teenager has revealed how he helped to rescue passengers in the Sainsbury's bus crash that killed an eight-year-old boy and injured a girl of nine who were travelling with their grandfather.

Daham Mohammed, 16, saw the bus careering down the road before it ploughed into the supermarket in Coventry city centre.

After hearing screaming coming from inside, he jumped on board and ran up the stairwell before making 'desperate' attempts to free two children.

He said: 'I could hear people on the top deck screaming, and there was a window smashed at the bottom so I jumped in and went up. I went up the stairwell and it was very cramped and there wasn't much space.'

Daham first saw an elderly man trapped under the seats at the front and helped him up.

'He offered me his leg and I pulled him out, he seemed to only have minor injuries. He was tall and thin and he had grey hair. He told me his grandchildren were on the bus.

'He told me there were two kids but I could only hear one screaming. I told him to get off and I would help them, as I thought I would be more capable and quicker than him.

'But he didn't seem to trust anyone but himself, and he went back for the kids. He was in total shock, I told him to relax and calm down but he was in a panic.'

The teenager rushed out to let others know children were trapped before heading back in to the bus to try to help.'I could see a child's handing reaching out from the rubble,' he said. 'I had to try and help - I just felt I had to do something and be responsible.'

'Where the bus had crashed the pipes inside Sainsbury's had burst and were leaking water - at first I panicked and thought it was petrol, then I realised the engine was at the back of the bus.

'I desperately tried to get them out - I tried my best, I wasn't scared at all it was just a big shock.

'When I went on the bus I didn't expect it to look as bad as it was - there was rubble everywhere and when I went up the stairs there was a seat in my face, it was very cramped.'

Bus that killed boy of eight after it crashed into Sainsbury's was driven by 77-year-old former Leamington mayor

The driver of a bus which crashed into a Sainsbury’s supermarket – killing an eight-year-old boy and an elderly pedestrian – was a 77-year-old former town mayor, colleagues said last night.

Kailash Chander is understood to have lost control and mounted the pavement before ploughing through at least four lampposts and crashing into the city centre store on Saturday evening.

Yesterday, as the ‘shocked’ bus driver recovered at home, eyewitnesses gave dramatic accounts of his vehicle’s path in the seconds before a canopy from the supermarket became embedded in its top deck – trapping the eight-year-old and a girl of nine, who is said to be a relative of the boy.

A colleague of the driver, a married father of two and former Labour councillor, told how he had worked at the Stagecoach Midlands company for 42 years.

The man, who asked not to be identified, said: ‘He is a polite, kind man who has done a lot for the community – he was a former town mayor.

‘I have never known him to have a crash before. This tragedy will stay with him for ever.’

A second bus driver who worked alongside Mr Chander at the depot in the former mayor’s home town of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, said he was not aware of old age being a barrier to driving a bus with the company.

Police yesterday were trying to establish exactly what caused the crash in Coventry. Nobody had been arrested last night.

A Stagecoach source who worked at the same depot as Mr Chander, said the bus had been impounded for examination, but added: ‘The management are not expecting any defects to be found with the vehicle.’

Seven-year-old victim named

A seven-year-old boy killed when a double-decker bus crashed into a supermarket has been named locally as Rowan Fitzgerald.

The schoolboy was on the top deck with his eight-year-old cousin, who was also left fighting for life, when the bus ploughed through a controversial "shared space" area into a Sainsbury's.

Reverend Noel Breslin, from St Peter’s Church in the nearby suburb of Whitnash which is affiliated to the school, has been comforting his devastated classmates at St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School in Leamington Spa, Warks.

A spokesperson for the primary school said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those affected by the tragedy which happened in Coventry on Saturday night.”

A spokeswoman for St Peter’s Church said: “Rowan Fitzgerald sadly died on Saturday night in Coventry. The church is affiliated with the school he attended and this morning Father Breslin has been there offering his support to the pupils and staff.

“It is a terrible time for everyone, absolutely tragic and it does not bear thinking about what Rowan’s parents are going through.”