A biologist has been fined after his van crashed into a school minibus in Northumberland, leaving the driver and a child trapped and children screaming.
Michail Kioulepoglou, 30, of Bentinck Crescent, Pegswood, lost control of his van on a bend near Morpeth on December 8 last year, colliding with a Watbus minibus carrying eight children aged between seven and 16.
Crash details
Newcastle Crown Court, sitting at Moot Hall, heard the school bus driver was taking the children on a school run through Hebron towards Morpeth around 8.30am. The driver, familiar with the route, described it as a 60mph single carriageway with sharp bends. He was travelling at 30mph to 40mph to negotiate a sharp bend safely when he saw Kioulepoglou's van approaching too fast.
The driver moved his minibus as far left as possible, but Kioulepoglou veered onto the wrong side and struck the side of the minibus. Rachel Butt, prosecuting, said: "It caused damage to the driver's side door. (The driver) said the children were screaming inside the van. He himself felt pain to his chest, shoulder and knee. He had sustained soft tissue damage."
Rescue and impact
The driver's phone's automatic crash alarm alerted emergency services, and one of the older students also called them. The driver was unable to exit through the driver's side due to damage. He was given morphine, and firefighters took half an hour to cut the side of the bus to free him and a child trapped behind him.
In a victim impact statement, the driver said: "I've been breaking down since the crash and can't get it out of my mind. I've been struggling sleeping and keep waking up panicking and crying. I've been having nightmares about the children screaming in the bus."
Court outcome
Kioulepoglou, who has no previous convictions and a clean driving licence, was charged with dangerous driving but pleaded guilty to careless driving. He was fined £375 and given six penalty points. Recorder James Hay told him: "For this matter that could have been so much worse, you are extremely lucky, as are each of the poor people that happened to be coming the other way around that bend when you overcooked it. I know, having watched you in court, how seriously you are taking this. You ended up with a broken leg as well. I very much hope you have learned everything anyone would hope to learn from this situation. It seems to me if you don't know the road very well you change your driving. That didn't happen but I can't take it back now."
Jennifer Coxon, defending, said: "He can only apologise to all parties involved for his lack of concentration on that day." She added that Kioulepoglou had moved to the North East two months before the accident and had bought the van to transport his belongings. Miss Coxon noted that Kioulepoglou had worked for a pharmaceutical company as a biologist and was involved in making Covid vaccines.
