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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Chris Slater

Bus driver and three others rushed to hospital after smash but none seriously injured

Four people including the driver were taken to hospital after a bus ploughed into a building in Bolton. However, none were seriously injured, police have confirmed.

The double-decker Stagecoach bus smashed into a gym on School Street in Westhoughton just after 6:30pm on Friday evening.

CCTV footage shared on social media showed the bus speeding by a line of traffic into the wrong carriageway before crashing into a car at a junction and then ploughing into the building.

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The fire service initially said that one person was taken to hospital following the collision. Today Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed that in fact four casualties, the bus driver and three passengers, were taken to hospital.

However, a spokesman for the force said the driver's injuries were not life-threatening or life-changing. The injuries suffered by the passengers were described as being "minor.."

(James Speakman)

No arrests have been made following the incident they added. The cause of the crash is still not known.

Lee Teder, 34, who owns the damaged gym, Renegade Strength and Fitness, was inside with six other people at the time.

He said it was a "small miracle" that no one was been seriously injured or worse. "There was a massive bang and debris everywhere," he told the Manchester Evening News.

"After a few seconds, we realised what had happened. We knew we had to get everybody out. We were all OK, just a bit shocked."

A mum also said she was left terrified and that her son is still 'having nightmares' after being left covered in bruises from the crash.

(Phil Taylor)

Shanice Birtles, 26, from Westhoughton said she raced to the scene in a taxi after receiving a call telling her that her two children, two-year-old Alfie and four-month-old Ava, were on the bus with their auntie and grandmother at the time of the crash.

She said Alfie has bruises "all over him" , that Ava suffered scratches, and that the entire family had been left shaken up. "I feel like the luckiest mum in the world to still have my babies with me, someone was definitely looking down on them" she said.

In a statement issued on Monday, Stagecoach Manchester said they were supporting the driver whilst trying to 'establish the circumstances.'

“We can confirm a bus operating Service 7 was involved in an incident on Market Street, Westhoughton on June 10 at 18.38" a spokesperson said.

"Our first thoughts are for those affected by the incident, and we are also providing support to our driver. Safety is our absolute priority, and we are supporting efforts to establish the full circumstances involved.”

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