Three children were taken to hospital with injuries which aren’t thought to be life-threatening
A double-decker bus is recovered after crashing into a low railway bridge in Newport, tearing off its roof and injuring three schoolchildren(Image: John Myers)
A mum has described the moment she had a call from her son to say his school bus had crashed into a railway bridge on Tuesday morning. Police, the ambulance service and the fire service were called to the scene at Tregare Street near Newport city centre on Tuesday morning.
The Newport Bus had been carrying schoolchildren from Ysgol Gyfun Gwent Is Coed and St Julian’s School when it hit the bridge at around 7.45am. Pictures and video footage from the scene show the roof having been completely removed from the bus by emergency services.
Immediately following the shocking incident Jo Townsend received a call from her 13-year-old son Gruff who told her that he and two other children had been injured.
“I got a call at 7.45am from my son saying the bus had crashed,” Jo told WalesOnline. “I got dressed as fast as possible and rushed to the site of the accident. The area was taped off and the images were shocking and of course worried me.”
A local nursery – Lullabyz – opened for emergency services as paramedics treated casualties. “The nursery Lullabyz were great and opened up for paramedics to start seeing kids,” Jo said.
“There were two fire engines, an ambulance and police cars when I got there. So I saw all the lights before getting to the site.”
Jo found her son being checked over by paramedics inside the local nursery and they were told he would need further observations at the Grange hospital. Never miss a Newport story by subscribing to our newsletter here
After spending the morning in hospital Gruff was discharged around midday feeling sore and in shock with a “nasty bump to the head”, Jo said.
A spokesperson for Gwent Police said: “Officers attended along with crews from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service and the Welsh Ambulance Service and the collision involved a school bus and a railway bridge.
“Three children have sustained injuries and will be attending hospital for treatment; their injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.”
Newport council and Newport Bus have launched a formal investigation into the bus crash.
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