London bus crash injures passengers, causes shop to collapse

Published August 10, 2017
Emergency workers and officials examine the scene of the accident. — AFP
Emergency workers and officials examine the scene of the accident. — AFP

A London double-decker bus crashed into a shop on a busy street in the British capital on Thursday, leaving two people trapped and others hurt after the driver blacked out, witnesses said.

Pictures on social media showed shattered glass and paramedics tending to passengers on the upper deck of the red bus. The crash caused the front of the shop to collapse.

Passenger Amy Mullineux, a nurse, said that the driver told her that he had lost consciousness.

“He said that he blacked out before the bus hit the shop,” said the 40-year-old. “He doesn't remember hitting anything.”

Another passenger, Andrew Matthews, 34, said that around a dozen people were on board when the bus began to drift off the road.

“As soon as the bus came to a stop, there was yelling, screaming,” he said. “I noticed a lady wedged in the front right-hand side. She was screaming for help. There was a lot of blood.”

The two passengers initially trapped were freed by firefighters and the bus driver was taken to a hospital. London Ambulance Service said that they had treated six patients.

The accident happened on Lavender Hill, in southwest London, known for the 1951 British comedy film “The Lavender Hill Mob”, starring Alec Guinness, Sid James and a young Audrey Hepburn, which won an Oscar for best screenplay.

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