Three secondary school students were rushed to the hospital with severe serious injuries, and 13 other students were injured after the double-decker school bus collided with the railway bridges that ripped the roof off.
Around 60 students were on the bus, when they were on their way to Henry Beaufort School, in Winchester despite the students’ warning shouts, the bus driver, who was on his first day, hit the railway bridge just after 8 am.
According to the Hampshire police, three children rushed to the hospital in serious but non-life-threatening injuries, while 13 injured children were treated at the scene of the crash in Wellhouse Lane
A Hampshire Police spokesman said that they were called at 8:10 am to reports of a serious collision on Wellhouse Lane, Winchester, after the bus ran into the bridge which ripped off the roof and caused significant damage to the bus.
Henry Beaufort School spokeswoman said that it is a sad incident, all our senior members of the staff were at the site of the crash to supports the students.
A local businessman who works near the road said he had heard the driver was very new to the job and nearly 60 pupils were on the bus at the time of the accident. It is also claimed that the pupils were screaming at the driver to tell him that he was going in the wrong direction.
Stagecoach South (bus operator providing services) which has a contract with Hampshire County Council for the school run said in the statement that they are carrying out an internal investigation and will provide emergency services with full support.
One more witness said that the bridge is really low, and the people who were at the scene took the driver as a complete novice, and everyone thought that it was his first day.
Hampshire County Council said that they are providing every kind of support to the school, even the Education Psychology team is trying to help the students and staff to overcome any trauma.
Network Rail, inspected the bridge and confirmed that no visible damage has occurred to the structure, and train services will run as scheduled.