Joy-riders injured in bus crash

Police say it is a miracle nobody was killed when two men stole a 46-seater bus from a rugby game in Oamaru on Saturday and crashed it on State Highway 1.

One of the men, aged 23, was seriously injured and was last night in intensive care at Dunedin Hospital.

The other, aged 18, was discharged from Timaru Hospital yesterday morning and is now in custody.

He has been charged with unlawfully taking the bus and will appear in the Oamaru District Court today.

Senior Sergeant Kevin Hooper, of Oamaru, said further charges were pending.

The teenager's co-offender would be interviewed by police and also charged.

Police would not release the names of the men, who were both from Oamaru, due to the charges being laid.

The driver lost control and crashed about 18km north of Oamaru.

"The fact nobody was killed was a miracle," Mr Hooper said.

"The bus was totally out of control."

The Ritchies Coachline bus was used to take Maheno Rugby Club supporters to the Citizens Shield North Otago club rugby final at Centennial Park.

Terry Perriam was taking entry money at the gates when he encountered the pair.

The men, who "weren't even on the planet", wanted entry to the game and said they had $1.20, he said.

When told that was not enough, they "kicked up a wee bit of a fuss" and left.

Mr Perriam then heard a bang and saw the pair drive away in the bus.

Members of the public reported the bus being driven erratically and at speed.

A Christchurch couple driving south said they got the fright of their lives when the speeding bus suddenly appeared in front of them on the wrong side of the road.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, said the driver appeared to be looking to his left or over his shoulder.

"All of a sudden he looked back, saw he was heading straight for us and tried to pull back on to his side of the road.

"But he sort of wrenched on the steering wheel, overcorrected it, and the bus swerved off the road, went up a steep bank and sort of corkscrewed over on to its side."

The couple stopped and went back to give assistance, fearing initially the bus might have been full of tourists.

As they were dialling 111 for an ambulance, a police car arrived at the scene.

"There was nothing left of the front of the bus," the man said.

A crane was used to lift the extensively damaged bus and it was removed from the site by transporter about 7.30pm.

Police have yet to say whether alcohol was a factor in the crash, but blood samples were taken from the men.

Cans of beer were scattered at the scene, although Mr Hooper pointed out that the bus had been used by rugby supporters.

- NZPA