Bus speed unlikely to be factor in crash, say police

Callan Sparnon wasn't hurt badly enough to miss school today, but he's not looking forward to the bus ride. Picture / Paul Estcourt

Police are considering driver error or mechanical fault as the possible cause of the schoolbus crash that left 19 students injured yesterday.

The accident happened in the morning in drizzly conditions, but Senior Constable Gary Abbott from the serious crash unit said excessive speed and the condition of the road did not seem at this stage to be factors.

That left driver error or a mechanical fault - options that would be investigated further before any decision was made on whether charges would be laid.

The accident happened on the Coatesville-Riverhead highway as students were on their way to Takapuna Normal Intermediate, Westlake Girls and Boys High Schools, Rosmini College and Carmel College.

Because of the number of injured students, four fire engines, a command unit, six ambulances and 13 police cars were sent to the scene.

Waitakere acting chief fire officer Peter Wilding said he was pleased with how the incident was handled, considering the number of students, worried parents and emergency service staff at the scene.

"An incident like this goes well when the agencies work well together and the whole community responds. It's a community response to a community event."

Party Bus Company director Gary Mills said the 36-year-old bus driver was shocked but uninjured. "I spoke to her for 30 minutes after the accident. She was quite shaken so she couldn't remember what happened."

The woman, who has been with the company for about eight months, has been stood down pending an internal inquiry and the findings of police and Land Transport investigations.

Mr Mills said he had heard some reports from children that the bus was speeding.

However, police said the bus would have probably rolled further down the paddock if excessive speed was a factor.

Mr Mills said he was aware some parents might be critical about the time it took to locate their children, but the company didn't have a list of who was on the bus and it was difficult keeping track of where the students were taken.

Matters were also complicated by the fact a second bus was following the one that crashed and confused parents were trying to locate children who weren't actually involved.

He did not think the company's reputation would be harmed by the accident.

"We carry hundreds of kids to school each day. It's one of those things you hope will never happen."


Cartwheeling inside rolling bus 'just weird'

As Callan Sparnon's schoolbus crashed down a bank and through a fence he felt himself doing "cartwheels and flips" through the air before landing upside down on his friend.

"We slipped and rolled and flipped and I fell on to my friend. You couldn't see anything and you didn't know where you were," said the 12-year-old.

"We were just doing cartwheels and flips. I just felt totally weird because we were standing on the roof trying to get up."

Callan, who goes to Takapuna Normal Intermediate, was one of 40 students on the bus that crashed along the Coatesville-Riverhead highway yesterday morning.

Nineteen were taken to hospital with a range of complaints including cuts, bruising, fractures and backache - but none was seriously injured.

Callan, who escaped with just a sore leg, said the bus was going up a hill when the driver started losing control.

"She took the corner too wide and [the bus] started to slide."

The driver tried to regain control but the bus crashed down a hill, through a fence and rolled into a paddock where it landed on its roof.

As the dazed students smashed their way out of the bus, emergency services arrived to find many of them bleeding and crying.

The injured were taken to hospital and 21 others were taken to nearby Riverhead Hall, where parents arrived bearing expressions of panic, shock and concern. They left with children who bore similar expressions.

One boy still had blood on his elbow, and a teenage girl looked stunned as she walked to the car with her mother.

Another girl left carrying a trophy - a yellow "school" sign that looked as though it had come off the front of the crashed bus.

Peter Moore collected his 13-year-old daughter, Alyssa, after being contacted by a neighbour.

"One of my neighbours flagged me down on the road. Her daughter was following the bus on another bus and texted her [about what happened]".

Mr Moore said his daughter, a Carmel College student, was in shock after hitting her head on the roof of the bus as it rolled. He had visited the crash site and was amazed she had escaped more serious injury.

"It looked like the bus went over and over - it's lucky no one was killed."

One man, a farmer, left the hall unable to find his son. When his mobile phone rang and it turned out his boy was actually on a different bus, a look of relief spread across his face.

Another woman walked out of the hall, also relieved. She had gone looking for her daughter Nicole but it was a different Nicole being treated there.

"It turns out she was at school, but you just panic," said the woman.

At least five of the students remained in hospital late yesterday afternoon, including four from Westlake Girls High School.

Another girl was expected to remain in Middlemore Hospital overnight with a possible back injury.

As for Callan, his injuries weren't bad enough to get him off school today - and he will have to take a bus to get there.

"It will be a bit weird, I don't really want to [catch the bus] but it's the only way I can get to school."