Passengers' terror after bus ploughs into wall (From Daily Echo)

Bus ploughs into wall in Sarisbury Green injuring nine people

9:30am Monday 11th March 2013 in News By Chris Yandell, Chief Reporter, New Forest

PASSENGERS have spoken of their terror, after nine people were injured when a bus smashed into a garden wall after careering across a busy road.

As previously reported, the First Solent vehicle collided with several parked cars in Bridge Road, Sarisbury Green, before veering on to the opposite pavement after the driver fell ill at the wheel, according to police.

Passengers spoke of their horror after bricks came crashing through the front windows of the bus, which was badly damaged in the drama.

One of those on board was a 75-year-old man who had boarded the vehicle only minutes earlier.

He said the bus collided with a 4x4 and mounted the pavement on the other side of the street, knocking down metal railings outside one property and a wall outside another.

He said the vehicle ended up on top of the wall, with its front wheels off the ground.

The passenger, who asked not to be named, said: “You don’t think about being frightened, it all happened so quickly. But I panicked when bricks started to come through the bus.”

James Evans, retired, who lives at one of the properties affected by the crash, said he heard several bangs as the bus smashed into the wall.

He added: “The passengers were all climbing out of the bus – they were terrified obviously – and there was quite a lot of damage to the vehicle.

“Nobody was really hurt, just shaken up.

“I wasn’t so much in shock as annoyed at the devastation of the wall.”

Gladys Blackwell, 88, whose front garden was also damaged, added: “I was out the back and heard this horrible crash.

“When I came in the bus was actually in next door’s front garden.

“I didn’t know what to think – my first thought was ‘thank goodness nobody was walking along the path’ – it could have been a lot worse.

“It was devastation – I thought ‘Oh my poor garden’, but I’m glad nobody was hurt.”

The single-decker Solent Ranger bus was operating on the X4 service from Southampton to Fareham.

A police spokeswoman said that nine of the ten passengers on the bus were treated for minor injuries, but Solent First claimed only one person was hurt.

The road was closed for three hours as the scene was cleared following the incident, which occurred just after 11.30am on Saturday.

A bus company spokesman said: “The bus was proceeding normally when the driver was taken ill at the wheel.

“As a result the bus was in collision with a number of parked cars and came to a stop having struck a garden wall.

“One customer suffered a minor injury as a result of the incident.

“Immediately after the incident the driver was taken to hospital and is now recovering.

“We are incredibly sorry for the damage that has been caused to people’s property and for the inconvenience this incident has caused people in the area, and those travelling on the bus.

“Our investigations are continuing.”

• Additional reporting by Emma Streatfield