Family’s fortunate escape after bus carrying passengers smashes by means of backyard wall
Claire Read had just got out of bed when she heard a ‘huge crash’ – and rushed outside to find a bus had smashed into her front garden in County Durham, causing extensive damage to her property
A woman from County Durham was left stunned on Sunday morning (July 19) when a bus crashed into her front garden. Claire Read had barely risen from bed at 9.30am when she was jolted by a massive crash.
A single-decker Go North East bus had ploughed through her garden wall, toppling trees and the football goal used by her two children. The 41-year-old welfare advisor told ChronicleLive: “I was just getting up because we were going out and I heard a bang, I thought it was thunder at first.
“When it hit the tree behind the house, it made a horrendous noise and we heard people shouting. Then we just saw a bus on the drive.”
The bus suddenly crashed through the garden wall(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
It is believed that the bus driver had suffered a medical episode which caused the vehicle to swerve off Chester Road East and into Claire’s property on Hilltop.
Claire, who shares her home with husband Peter and sons Charlie, 13, and Freddie, 9, dashed out to see what had happened and immediately noticed the driver needed assistance, reports Chronicle Live.
She continued: “It was genuinely awful, the whole windscreen had come through. I had no shoes on and my husband had to bring them out because of the glass.
Damage to the front of the bus as the family fear what could have happened if kids had been outside(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
“It was very obvious that the driver had a medical event. The bus had come through traffic lights, hit a traffic island and veered into our property.”
Emergency services arrived on the scene and the fire service assisted in extracting the driver from the vehicle. It is estimated there were around 10 passengers on the bus.
One individual has been transported to University Hospital North Durham, although it remains unconfirmed whether this is the driver.
Claire went on to say: “Hopefully the driver is okay, property can be replaced but lives can’t. There’s a hell of a lot of damage, but I’m not mad about it, these things happen.”
The wall, trees and football nets were all destroyed in the crash(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
Despite her understanding, the incident did give the 41-year-old quite a fright. She admitted: “It’s been a bit of a stressful morning, I’m fine now but it’s been a bit of a shock.”
She added: “What could have been, the kids are always outside. The football goal is completely trashed so it’s just the ‘what if’.”
A spokesperson for CDDFRS stated: “County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service was called to a road traffic collision involving a bus on the A693, Stanley, after the vehicle left the carriageway. There were concerns that the driver may have suffered a medical episode prior to the collision.
“One crew from Consett and one crew from High Handenhold attended the incident and worked alongside ambulance and police colleagues, providing assistance at the scene and assessing those involved. The Service left the scene at 11:15 hrs.”
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