Witham driver banned from roads after crashing school bus

Robert Hills, of Larch Grove, Witham, was driving a Mercedes Euro bus at 7.20am in June last year when he accidentally pressed the accelerator instead of the brake pedal.

He then crashed into a queue of traffic.

At Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday, Hills, who had been a bus driver for 30 years, admitted one charge of careless driving.

Three members of Hills’ family were sitting in the public gallery, as were two managers from the bus company he had been working for at the time of the incident.

The court heard how Hills, 74, was driving a school bus on White Elm Road, Bicknacre, on June 19 last year.

Emma Kuther, prosecuting, told the court: “The defendant was driving a school coach shortly after 7am; there were four school children under 15.

“The defendant came around a blind left hand bend and into stationary traffic – he accelerated and kept his foot on the accelerator.

“This caused a collision with a Land Rover and that caused a pile-on – the Land Rover then crashed into a Volvo, and so on.

“The coach travelled off the carriageway and caught the sides of two further vehicles.

The court heard how Hills, who had one previous driving conviction in 1970, had meant to press the break pedal, but his foot slipped and he put his foot on the accelerator pedal instead.

Ms Kuther added the garden wall which Hills crashed the bus into was completely destroyed, and that the driver of the Land Rover was taken to hospital for a cut to his head.

Llewellyn Culver-Evans, mitigating, said that 30 seconds before the collision the bus's speed was traced at 26mph, and at the time of the collision, the speed was 32mph.

He said: “The defendant spoke to every single person who was injured, apologised, and made sure everyone was OK.”

Judge Richard Wilkin said he felt the only appropriate sentence was a driving ban due to the “serious nature” of the offence.

Hills was banned from driving for a year and must pay £1,266.60 in costs.