Woman thrown into air and crushed to death under parked bus at packed station

30 August 2023 , 06:46

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Melissa Burr, 32, was hit by the bus on the morning of August 10, 2021 (Image: PA)

A woman was killed after being thrown into the air and crushed by a parked bus that was shunted from behind, a court has heard.

Melissa Burr, 32, suffered fatal injuries after being struck by the vehicle outside London's Victoria train station on the morning of August 10, 2021. Bus driver Olusofa Popoola, 60, had allegedly caused the fatal crash by accelerating into the back of a stationary bus, pushing it forward and into the pedestrian.

Popoola is charged with causing death by dangerous driving and seriously injuring the other bus driver, Diane Mathuranayagum, who suffered a fractured eye socket. Opening a trial at the Old Bailey yesterday, prosecutor Robert Evans said Popoola had been queueing third in a line of buses, with Ms Mathuranayagum’s bus in front of him.

When the first bus moved off, Ms Mathuranayagum moved up to the front of the queue, put on the parking brake, got out of her cab and went to stand by the open door. Ms Burr, from Rainham, Kent, was the first of three pedestrians to cross in front of the queue of buses.

The scene at Victoria bus station following the crash (PA)

Mr Evans said: "The parked bus lurched forward. It hit Ms Burr, who was propelled up and forward. The people behind her jumped backwards out of the way. The driver of the parked bus, Ms Mathuranayagum, was thrown out of the door of the parked bus and on to the pavement.

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"The driverless parked bus continued to go forward, it ran over Ms Burr who ended up under the bus and she very sadly died as a consequence of the multiple injuries that she received." A passenger on the bus was thrown to the floor and suffered minor injuries, the court was told.

At the scene, Popoola allegedly said he was in the process of stopping when his "foot slipped off the brake and on to the accelerator" and he collided with the bus in front. In a later prepared statement, he said: "I felt a big collision out of nowhere. I think out of a shock, I may have applied my accelerator more firm instead of the brake. I think I believed that I was pressing the brake.

"I think I pressed the brake eventually to bring my vehicle to a stop but the collision had already taken place. I was in a state of shock. I could not believe what had happened. I remained seated for around a minute. I did not think anyone was hurt, just that I had caused damage to the vehicles."

A private ambulance at the scene two years ago (PA)

He said he felt terrible about what had happened, and added: "It is so difficult for me to explain. I do not know what happened. I just wanted to move my bus forward and next thing I know the collision happened." A crash investigation concluded the defendant had continued to apply the accelerator pedal – rather than a foot brake – after impact with the stationary bus before finally using the parking brake to stop.

Data from his vehicle found it was travelling at around 8mph at the point of collision and reached a peak speed moments before of 10mph. Mr Evans told jurors: "The prosecution does not say that the defendant drove dangerously deliberately, but his intentions are neither here nor there.

"He depressed the accelerator pedal with his foot, moving the electric bus forward – driving it forward – and he continued to drive it forward even after his bus had hit the bus in front. He then drove forward for almost the whole length of the bus in front, accelerating as he did so.

"The force of the impact from the bus driven by the defendant, into the rear of the parked bus, pushed the previously stationary bus forward and into Ms Burr, who had been crossing the bus bay ahead of it. The parking brake had remained applied to the front bus throughout this movement."

He added: “Even if the defendant unintentionally pressed the accelerator pedal when he meant to press the brake pedal, that mistake may explain why it is that he drove in the way that he did, but it does not mean that his driving did not fall far below the standard one would expect of a careful and competent driver.”

Jurors were shown distressing CCTV footage of the incident in which Ms Burr was struck to assess how Popoola drove. Mr Evans said: "We suggest it is obvious the way he drove was dangerous." Popoola, who had been driving buses for 20 years, denies the charges against him and the trial continues.

Katie Weston