Two people killed when a bus crashed into a supermarket at high speed in Coventry have been named by police.
Rowan Fitzgerald, seven, and Dora Hancox, in her 70s, were killed when the double-decker mounted the pavement and ploughed into the front of a Sainsbury’s store in the city centre on Saturday night.
Rowan’s cousin, an eight-year-old girl who has not been named, remained in a stable condition in hospital, West Midlands police said on Monday.
As police said they were continuing to question the 77-year-old driver of the vehicle, Insp Paul Bennett said: “The families of Rowan and Dora have suffered a devastating loss. Like people the length and breadth of Britain, we extend our deepest sympathies to them during this time.
“As they struggle to come to terms with their loss, they have chosen at this time not to release any images of their loved ones or to provide any words of tribute. They have also asked for the media to respect their privacy as they grieve.
“Similarly, the media are asked to allow the children at the school to come to terms with the loss of Rowan without the intrusion of cameras. Pupils continue to be supported by teachers and staff.”
Rowan, a pupil at St Anthony’s Catholic primary school in Leamington Spa, was travelling on the top deck of the bus with his cousin. Hancox, of Nuneaton, was a pedestrian in Trinity Street when the bus crashed into the supermarket.
The dead woman’s daughter left flowers where she died, with a note reading: “To Mum. R.I.P. you did not deserve to die like this, from Trina & Family xx.”
The driver’s identity has not been released by the bus company, Stagecoach Midlands, but he has been named in reports as Kailash Chander, a former mayor of Leamington Spa.
Stagecoach said: “No driver we employ is allowed behind the wheel of our buses without us being satisfied that they are fully qualified, safe and meet all necessary legal requirements. In this case, our driver has many years’ experience and has also passed a mandatory annual medical.”
Stagecoach said the driver and the company were cooperating fully with the police.
“Police have not yet completed their investigation and it is inappropriate to speculate in advance of their inquiries being concluded,” the company said in a statement.
As well as the eight-year-old girl, five other people – including the driver – were hurt in the collision and were treated in hospital after the bus travelled along Hale Street, colliding with a number of parked cars and a lamp-post before crashing into the store.
Police have appealed for witnesses to come forward with information.
Bennett, from West Midlands police’s collision investigation unit, said: “Investigations are ongoing but we are aware of a number of vital witnesses who we are yet to speak to. We know there were possibly hundreds of people at the crash scene on Saturday evening and I would urge these people to come forward as soon as possible and give statements. Also if anyone has images or footage of the scenes please contact us.”
A colleague of the driver, a married father of two and former Labour councillor, told the Daily Mail how he had worked at the Stagecoach Midlands company for 42 years.
The unnamed man said: “He is a polite, kind man who has done a lot for the community – he was a former town mayor. I have never known him to have a crash before. This tragedy will stay with him for ever.”
Witnesses described how the bus driver frantically honked his horn in an apparent attempt to warn people just seconds before the crash at the junction of a “shared space” scheme.
Four girls described how they narrowly avoided being hit. They were standing by the cashpoint outside Sainsbury’s as the bus headed towards the store and only dashed to safety because a man yelled at them to run.
The girls, all from Coventry, say they heard loud bangs as the bus came down Corporation Street.
Ebony Carver-Smith, 13, told the Coventry Telegraph: “If the man hadn’t shouted at us to run, we wouldn’t have moved and we would have been hit. There was a Facebook comment saying that the bus had missed some girls by inches and that was us. It is scary because the bus hit just by the cashpoint, which is where we were standing. After shouting at us to run, the man went to the bus to help. Lots of people were there trying to help straight away.”
