2019 Totnes bus crash

2019 Totnes bus crash
A Scania N230UD double-decker bus operating for Stagecoach Gold, similar to the one involved in the incident.
Map
Details
Date5 October 2019
LocationA385 road, near Totnes, Devon
Coordinates50°26′00″N 3°37′53″W / 50.4332°N 3.6315°W / 50.4332; -3.6315
OperatorStagecoach South West
Statistics
BusScania N230UD
Vehicles1
Deaths0
Injured50+ total
37 hospitalised
8 serious

The 2019 Totnes bus crash was a single-vehicle collision on the A385 road at Berry Pomeroy, Devon, England on 5 October 2019. More than 50 people – including the driver – were injured when a double-decker bus overturned at high speed between Totnes and Paignton. Eight passengers suffered injuries described as "serious" out of 37 requiring hospitalisation; though there were no fatalities.[1][2]

The bus, a 2013 Alexander Dennis Enviro400 bodied Scania N230UD double-decker[3][4] operated by Stagecoach South West on Stagecoach Gold services,[5] was operating a scheduled passenger service from Torquay to Plymouth when the driver lost control of the vehicle at a sharp bend on the rural A385 single-carriageway road. The bus mounted the unpaved verge on the outside of the bend, crashed through roadside hedgerows and subsequently came to rest on its side in an adjacent grass field.[1]

On 12 July 2021, the driver of the bus, 19-year-old Kameron Allan, was convicted of driving without due care and attention; he received a twelve-month driving ban and a fine. Allan was cleared of the more serious initial charge of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.[3][6] Additionally, Stagecoach South West were criticised for allowing Allan to drive the bus given his lack of experience with the vehicle and the route.[6]

  1. ^ a b "Totnes bus crash: Passengers hurt as double decker overturns". BBC News. 5 October 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Up to eight people seriously injured after double-decker overturns in Devon road". ITV News. 5 October 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  3. ^ a b Smith, Colleen (16 September 2020). "Stagecoach Gold double decker bus crash: Driver on 10 dangerous driving charges". Devon Live. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  4. ^ Going for Gold Buses 16 February 2018
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b "Totnes bus crash: Double-decker driver gets driving ban". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 21 July 2021.