Kirsty Holland said her daughter Lyssa Storey is now ‘terrified’ to get the bus home after the driver allegedly shouted at her and blamed her for the Liverpool bus collision
A furious mum has slammed a bus company for failing to apologise after one of its drivers allegedly yelled at her 12-year-old daughter following a bus crash. The incident occurred on January 9, when an Arriva bus smashed into a parked van at a bus stop outside Lord Derby Academy in Huyton.
The driver reportedly blamed schoolgirl Lyssa Storey for the collision, leaving her “terrified” to catch the bus home. Lyssa’s mum, Kirsty Holland, 42, told how her daughter had finished lessons early and was trying to catch the 2.55pm number nine service to Liverpool from the nearby bus stop on Seel Road. However, with a van and two cars parked in the bus stop, Lyssa had to stand in the road to flag down the bus, which arrived late at around 3.10pm.
After the crash, the bus driver allegedly shouted at Lyssa, claiming she was responsible for the accident. Arriva has launched an investigation and the driver has been summoned to a meeting.
However, when asked for an update, a spokesperson for Arriva Merseyside said it couldn’t provide any information due to confidentiality reasons. The company claimed it would be “inappropriate” to discuss any actions taken against the driver, leaving Lyssa’s mum demanding an apology for her daughter’s ordeal, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Ms. Holland expressed her dissatisfaction with the bus company’s response, stating it was “not good enough” and demanded an apology. She said: “She’s too intimidated to get that bus route home anymore.
“All I want is for him [the driver] to hold his hands up, apologise, say ‘look, I was having a bad day and took it out on the wrong person,’ we’ve all done it.”
Ms. Holland emphasised that no adult should speak to her daughter in such a manner and was annoyed by the way Arriva handled the situation, only responding after the ECHO got involved.
“The response is horrendous. People tried to blame my daughter, how is she to blame, was she driving the bus? I just want an apology off them.”
Ms. Holland had previously recounted to the ECHO how the Arriva driver shouted at Lyssa, claiming the crash was her fault. She said: “It terrified her, she doesn’t want to go to school because of him shouting at her. It’s made her so scared and uncomfortable.”
She added: “He is an adult man and the way he blamed her for him crashing the bus is not ok. All she did was put her hand out for a bus, she is my daughter and even I wouldn’t speak to her like that.
“Lyssa won’t get on that route home anymore and now has to go the long way, which adds a good half an hour onto her commute – it’s worrying for a parent, I want to know my 12-year-old daughter is getting home safely.”
A representative for Arriva Merseyside responded: “Arriva takes the safety and wellbeing of our customers very seriously. We are aware of the incident on the number 9 service on Friday, January 9 and the concerns raised by a customer’s family. The driver involved has been requested to attend a meeting and all aspects of the incident are being carefully investigated.”