September 05, 2012

Driver disqualified for bus crash into bridge

By Anne Clarkson

A bus driver has been fined $600 and disqualified for driving for six months for driving a bus full of school children into the overhead rail bridge in Richardson Terrace, Opawa.

The bus was taking 24 Woolston School pupils and four adults to a cross-country event in Ferrymead.

The children were thrown from their seats when the 2.9m high chartered Red Bus driven by Raymond Kim Williams crashed into the 2.4m high bridge on May 29.

Twelve children aged 8 to 12 years suffered bruising, strains, cuts, shock, and whiplash, and the bus was extensively damaged.

Two signs warned of the height restriction before the bridge, and there was another sign on the bridge itself.

The driver told police he went that way to avoid traffic and misjudged the clearance.

Williams, 58, who has no previous convictions, sent a letter to the Justices of the Peace traffic court admitting the charge of careless driving.

Justices of the Peace Bob McGregor and Judith Smyth imposed the penalty and said the accident had been a serious matter involving school children. The disqualification applies from October 3.