Horrific ordeal of Chester-le-Street bus crash survivor

Mar 11 2010 by Adam Thomson, The Journal

Eileen had only been on the bus for seconds before the head-on crash. She said: “I knew one of the other passengers because he gets on the bus regularly and I knew the driver.

“He waited until I sat down before he moved off. He would always wait. He was a very nice, friendly bus driver like that.

“I saw the other bus coming up the bank and I could see the driver at the wheel. There was this great big bang, like an atomic bomb going off.”

Eileen travelled daily on the 28-seat bus, operated by Moordale Coaches.

Father-of-three Mr Hutchinson, 58, of Lowther Avenue, Chester-le-Street, was pronounced dead at the scene, just after 4pm last Wednesday.

John Hall, 50, of Spen Street, Stanley, who was driving a 70-seat, Nightingale’s coach, is still fighting for life in Newcastle General Hospital.

Frank Bourne, 69, of Hawthorn Terrace, Pelton Fell, Chester-le-Street, is still being treated for a pelvic fracture. A 50-year-old woman, also from Newfield, suffered minor injuries.

Police are still appealing for anyone who saw the buses before the crash, or any witnesses to the incident to contact them with information by calling 0345 606 0365.