College bus crash into river in England sends five to hospital
PA Media/dpa
London
A college bus which crashed off a road into a river 'like a scene out of the movie Speed' had suffered 'brake failure and a jammed accelerator,' according to one of the first witnesses to reach the scene in southern England.
Police have praised the bravery of members of the public and emergency services who helped rescue some of the students and the driver who were trapped on board the Bluestar bus following the accident in Eastleigh.
Emergency services were alerted following the crash just before 10 am on Thursday, with 20 people including the driver on board and five people being taken to hospital. The passengers were all students on their way to Barton Peveril Sixth Form College, according to Hampshire Constabulary.
A force spokesman confirmed two people - the driver and a passenger - had suffered serious injuries but their injuries were not 'life-threatening.'
Eyewitness Kelly West, who lives nearby, said the driver had told her the bus had suffered mechanical failure prior to the crash.
She said: 'I heard some noise, I looked out of the window and he just came careening into the river. It felt like he was doing about 60 miles an hour, it felt very fast and obviously he just went straight through the barriers and into the river.'
Barton Peveril student Freddie Sampson described the 'manic' scene on board the bus as the driver 'lost control.'
He told the public broadcaster BBC: 'We ran into a lamppost and the whole windscreen shattered. It was like we couldn't stop and had to weave through traffic trying not to hit any cars and then the bus driver lost control - we went flying into the river. It was all a bit manic.'
Inspector Andy Tester, of Hampshire Constabulary, said: 'It must have been terrifying and my thoughts are very much with the children and the driver on the bus, who must have had a terrifying experience.' He said several people including the driver were trapped on board when emergency services arrived.
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