Children forced to jump from smashed windows as two victims of M53 crash named
Witnesses have told of a scene of devastation after a horror motorway school bus crash that claimed two lives.
Jessica Baker, 15, and the driver were killed when the coach flipped over with 58 people on board. Two others were seriously ill in hospital. Terrified children had been seen jumping from the wreckage as it lay on its side. One witness tweeted a photo of the bus and wrote: “Coach on the side with school kids escaping from the back window.”
The family of the driver claimed he had health problems just before the smash. Naming him as Stephen on a GoFundMe page to pay for his funeral, his sister-in-law said he leaves behind a widow in her 30s and children aged eight and four. She added: “He died in an accident after suffering medical issues at the wheel while driving students.”
Pupils in another coach travelling behind watched the horror unfold in front of them. Local Labour councillor Sherin Akhtar drove past the shattered vehicle just moments after the crash with her 13-year-old daughter. She said: “There were clearly casualties outside, there were pupils on the floor. My son was in the coach behind.”
Coach lies on its side after crash (@johnsfooty)A paramedic at the scene on the M53 near Birkenhead, Merseyside, found one traumatised pupil weeping amid the chaos. He said: “She was in shock and said it was horrible and scary. She said she thought she was going to die in the bus. The bus was a mess. The children were in shock. It’s going to take a long time for them to get over what they’ve seen.”
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The coach crashed just after 8am. It was taking pupils to West Kirby Grammar School for girls and Calday Grange school on the Wirral in a convoy of three. Mum Corrin Hickerton told how daughter Orla had by “sheer luck” boarded another bus. She wrote: “I know every family with children on those three buses were praying hard that it wasn’t their child’s bus that was involved.
“My heart goes out to the child’s family and of course the family of the bus driver. When I waved Orla off this morning it didn’t cross my mind that I might not be welcoming her back after a tiring day at school. She is getting one hell of a hug when she gets home.” Wirral South Labour MP Alison McGovern said: “News that a school has lost one of our precious young people is incredibly hard to bear.
Crash victim Jessica Baker, 15 (PA)
Coach driver Stephen Shrimpton died in the incident (Facebook)“My heart goes out to their family and friends. I am also thinking of the loved ones of the driver of the vehicle. We will need to care for two school communities that will be heartbroken today and, as a borough, the Wirral will do all it can.” Labour leader Keir Starmer last night called the crash tragedy “unimaginably sad news”.
A bouquet of pink and yellow roses were left outside the West Kirby school yesterday. Chief Supt Graeme Robson of Merseyside Police said of the fatalities: “Our thoughts and condolences are very much with their families and friends at this tragic time. “Family liaison officers are providing specialist support to both families and we are working with both schools and Wirral and Cheshire West councils to ensure trauma support is in place for the children on the bus.
“Other children from both schools were on buses travelling in convoy with the bus involved in the incident and witnessed it. They too will be provided with trauma support.” Dozens of emergency service vehicles raced to the crash scene, including two fire engines, as crews fought to free children from the vehicle.
Traffic backed up near the scene (Liverpool Echo)An emergency services training centre in nearby Wallasey was turned into a casualty centre to triage the injuries, with 17 people taken to hospitals. Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and the North West Ambulance Service declared major incidents due to the number of potential casualties.
Medics on strike abandoned their picket lines in Wirral to respond to the crash as the 999 calls flooded in. Post mortems will be carried out next week to determine the cause of the deaths. Calday Grange said on its website around 800 of its pupils travel to school and home by bus, including public transport and a route run by Carvers Coaches.
It added: “The coaches are fitted with seat belts and have CCTV which is routinely recorded for the safety and security of students and drivers. All drivers are required to hold a Disclosure and Barring Service check.” The motorway was closed in both directions last night.
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