On 29 September 2023, a coach operating a school bus route overturned on the M53 motorway in The Wirral in north-western England, killing the driver and a 15-year-old passenger.
Background
The coach, operated by Carvers Coaches,[1] was operating the W3 school bus route[2] from Bache, Chester to West Kirby Grammar School and Calday Grange Grammar School, West Kirby.[3] The W3 route forms part of the W series of school services which, together with the C series and A1 route, are jointly-provided by the two schools themselves rather than as the responsibility of the county's transport authority, Merseytravel.[4] The W3 along with two other routes of the W series, W4 and W5 (also Carvers Coaches), were travelling together in convoy on the M53 motorway at the time of the crash, and students on-board the other coaches witnessed the crash of the W3. Merseyside Police announced that all students who witnessed or were involved in the incident would be provided with specialist trauma support.[5]
Crash
The crash was captured by on-board cameras on the bus which, according to Andre Rebello, the senior coroner for Liverpool and the Wirral, showed the driver collapsing at the wheel. At the same time, the bus veered to the left, leaving the carriageway and climbing an embankment before coming to rest on its side.[6]
The crash killed two people – 40-year old coach driver Stephen Shrimpton and 15-year-old student Jessica Baker. Preliminary investigations suggested that Shrimpton suffered a medical episode while at the wheel and that Baker was partially ejected from the vehicle and died from head injuries sustained from the wreckage landing on her. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.[7]
Aftermath
In March 2024, a coroner revealed that Shrimpton had died from natural causes.[8] This was said to have been the sole cause of the crash.[9]
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