Double-decker bus crashes into bridge

Double-decker bus crashes into bridge in Hyde Lane, Cheltenham By Gloucestershire Echo | Posted: March 17, 2014

A man escaped death by inches when a bus smashed into the railway bridge he was walking under with his dogs, The Swanbrook double decker – which was empty of passengers – had its roof ripped off when it crashed into the bridge at the junction of Wymans Lane and Hyde Lane just after 7am yesterday. The driver said he had “forgotten” that he was in a double-decker bus, thinking he was driving a single-decker. And Philip Green, who lives in Hyde Lane, was walking his two dogs at the scene and was hit by debris. He said: “I’ve never walked so close to death. It was terrifying. Parts of the bus landed on me, I was right there.” As his hands shook on the leads of his two dogs, Mr Green, 57, added: “I’m really shaken up. I could easily have been killed.” The driver of the bus was Paul Bennett, aged 57. He said: “The bus was empty being taken to Bishop’s Cleeve where it goes to Hartpury College. This is my normal route, I started at 6.45am and left the depot at 7am. “I do this route every day but normally in a single-decker, and I just forgot I was in a double-decker. “My first thought when I hit the bridge was ‘what was that?’ and then I just thought ‘Oh no.’ “I pulled the bus over and called the police.” Another witness, Harriet Tweddle, was waiting for her bus on Church Road, 100 yards away from the collision. She said: “You see busses come along all the time, I saw it was a double-decker and I thought, he’s not going to try and get under there is he? And then, ‘Oh dear, he is’. “It was a massive bang when it hit. “I ran over to see that everyone was okay. “I saw that there was only the driver on the bus and I stayed with Philip until the paramedics came along. He was really shaken, but okay.” Mr Green was checked out by paramedics at the scene and taken home after his shock. Police officers closed the road as soon as they arrived, although the bridge was impassable, as the whole of the roof of the bus was across the road, shattered glass lay everywhere and some windows had even been rolled up by the impact. Twenty yards away was the rest of the shattered bus, it’s roof torn off, looking almost like a tourist open-topped bus. The red passenger poles has been torn from the floor, or snapped in half and the cables for the bell dangled down its sides. As parents took their children along the road to Swindon Village Primary School, and youngsters clamoured to look at the wreckage, engineers from Network Rail and Gloucestershire Highways checked the bridge and tracks to see that they were still safe. Trains continued to pass over the bridge but at a reduced speed. As soon as they had given the all clear two recovery vehicles from Richard Read Transport in Longhope turned up. Using a crane the recovery workers turned the roof over, and then threw small pieces of debris, window frames, glass and parts of seats on the upturned shell, which was then dragged onto a low loader and driven away. Residents in the area said that it was quite a common experience to hear vehicles strike the bridge. Jane Smith, who lives right next door to the bridge said: “I heard the bang this morning, but I didn’t look out. I hear something hitting the bridge all the time, and I just think ‘ there’s another one.’ It’s not a rare occurrence at all.” Living on the other side of the bridge, in Hyde Lane is Danny Roberts. He said: “Last week a massive lorry nearly got stuck under the bridge. “It had to go back, and a horsebox got caught there in race week and had to reverse all the way up the road. “We heard the bang this morning, it was really loud. A spokesman from Swanbrook said: “We will be making an internal investigation and there’s a police investigation ongoing, so we can’t make any comment. “The driver is unhurt and there was nobody on the bus, so we’re thankful for that.” Read more: http://www.gloucestershireecho.co.uk/Double-decker-bus-collides-bridge-Hyde-Lane/story-20818648-detail/story.html#ixzz2wGX5P2BF