A bus carrying passengers ploughed into the front garden of a family home in County Durham on Sunday morning, prompting the residents to rush to the aid of the driver. Claire Read, 41, initially thought the noise was thunder before discovering a single-decker Go North East bus had smashed through her property's wall on Hilltop in Stanley.
Family Reacts to the Crash
Claire and her husband Peter heard shouting and immediately realized the driver needed help. The bus had torn down trees and destroyed the football goal where her sons Charlie, 13, and Freddie, nine, regularly play. Around 10 passengers were believed to be on board when the bus veered off Chester Road East after passing through traffic lights and striking a traffic island.
Claire told ChronicleLive: "I was just getting up because we were going out and I heard a bang, I thought it was thunder at first. When it hit the tree behind the house, it made a horrendous noise and we heard people shouting. Then we just saw a bus on the drive."
Medical Event Suspected
Claire added: "It was genuinely awful, the whole windscreen had come through. I had no shoes on and my husband had to bring them out because of the glass. It was very obvious that the driver had a medical event. The bus had come through traffic lights, hit a traffic island and veered into our property." Emergency services rushed to the scene, with firefighters helping to remove the driver from the bus. One person was taken to University Hospital North Durham, though authorities have not confirmed whether this was the driver.
Family's Concern for Driver
Despite extensive damage to her home, Claire expressed concern for those involved. She said: "Hopefully the driver is okay, property can be replaced but lives can't. There's a hell of a lot of damage, but I'm not mad about it, these things happen. It's been a bit of a stressful morning, I'm fine now but it's been a bit of a shock." She reflected on the potential danger: "What could have been, the kids are always outside. The football goal is completely trashed so it's just the 'what if'."
Emergency Services Respond
A spokesperson for County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service said: "County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service was called to a road traffic collision involving a bus on the A693, Stanley, after the vehicle left the carriageway. There were concerns that the driver may have suffered a medical episode prior to the collision. One crew from Consett and one crew from High Handenhold attended the incident and worked alongside ambulance and police colleagues, providing assistance at the scene and assessing those involved. The service left the scene at 11.15am."
