Brighton bus crash

[Busaholic]

At about 9.20 this morning there was a bus crash in the centre of Brighton involving two doubledeckers of Go-Ahead Brighton and Hove, leaving two passengers with life-threatening injuries, three others with multiple injuries and many walking wounded. Most of the city centre was cordoned off while the air ambulance and other ambvulances dealt with casualties.

 

[BuhSnarf]

Pictures are up on BBC news and looks like one has gone in to the back of another with some force.

 

[Antman]

Pictures are up on BBC news and looks like one has gone in to the back of another with some force.

Yes there are a few photographs on social media, I can only wish a full and speedy recovery to all concerned

 

[westcoaster]

Pictures are up on BBC news and looks like one has gone in to the back of another with some force.

Thats what i thought at first, im thinking the front one has rolled backwards into the other one.

Looking at the pics its odd there are road cones under the rear bus how did they get there.

 

[Busaholic]

An onlooker is reported as saying that the second bus 'took off into the air' before ploughing into the other bus, but as there were plenty of other uninformed comments around, even suggestions of a terrorist incident, I'd take them with a pinch of salt at this stage.

 

[hassaanhc]

One of the eyewitnesses do say that the cone under the front wheel was there before the impact.

The 25-year-old said: "I saw the bus coming up the road and it had one of the orange work cones under its wheel. I could hear it scraping along.

"Then I heard this horrendous bang and glass covered the pavement.

"I don't know if the cone got knocked in the road causing him to be unable to break - the roadworks here in Brighton are an absolute nightmare."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/brighton-bus-crash-live-updates-6010830

https://twitter.com/hollie_cagney/status/617972854496346112

 

[Antman]

An onlooker is reported as saying that the second bus 'took off into the air' before ploughing into the other bus, but as there were plenty of other uninformed comments around, even suggestions of a terrorist incident, I'd take them with a pinch of salt at this stage.

There was also a suggestion that the traffic cone got wedged under the bus and prevented it from stopping, as you say all best taken with a pinch of salt!

 

[bnm]

Would braking performance be that badly degraded by an object under one wheel? Presumably all other wheels would still brake normally.

Driver taken ill at the wheel perhaps? Hit roadworks then bus in front.

 

[Robertj21a]

Would braking performance be that badly degraded by an object under one wheel? Presumably all other wheels would still brake normally.

Driver taken ill at the wheel perhaps? Hit roadworks then bus in front.

That certainly sounds more credible.

 

[Statto]

Could be the throttle jammed on.

 

[theageofthetra]

Does this sort of vehicle have a fly by wire throttle or braking system?

 

[DaveHarries]

Driver taken ill at the wheel perhaps? Hit roadworks then bus in front.

I heard it suggested on the news earlier this evening (BBC Bristol) that it is thought one of the drivers may have had a "medical episode".

Dave

 

[Tim R-T-C]

Same thing happened in the horrible refuse lorry accident in Glasgow, so this seems to have been fortunately minor in comparison - the collision with another bus might well have prevented something much worse.

 

[Shimbleshanks]

Hope that the person with life-threatening injuries pulls through.

Interesting, though, that the BBC website gives far less coverage to a car smash in Staffordshire in which two people are confirmed dead and another seriously injured.

 

[Busaholic]

Reports I have now seen suggest the driver of the second bus collapsed over the wheel (he is one of the two people reported with life-threatening injuries) with his foot presumably still on the acclerator and the bus driver in front, displaying remarkable quick-wittedness, saw enough in his rear view mirror to make a deliberate emergency stop in order to prevent the second bus going totally out of control with potentially fatalistic consequences on a grand scale. The first bus driver is being hailed as a hero. It would be nice to think the gist of the story is true.

 

[ValleyLines142]

As a regular holidaymaker to Brighton and having used B&H buses for almost the entirety of my life, even remembering the days of the Scania N113DRB/East Lancs deckers running along the coast on the 712, I must admit this is absolutely devastating news and I hope that all involved make a speedy recovery. That Gemini has really taking a beating; the cab equipment has flown out of the window! Ouch!