School bus crash driver 'cannot remember what happened'

The bus was carrying 35 children. Picture / Paul Estcourt

The driver of a school bus which rolled today leaving 14 children needing hospital treatment cannot remember what happened, her employers say.

There were about 35 students on board the bus when it rolled off the Coatesville-Riverhead Highway northwest of Auckland this morning.

The bus finished up on its roof in a farmer's paddock

PBC Travel director Gary Mills said the bus driver had been with the company for about eight months.

He said: "I spoke to her for 30minutes after the accident. She was quite shaken so she couldn't remember what happened."

From what he understood, the bus was going around a bend while going uphill when the driver lost control. She tried to correct the bus but it rolled down a small hill and into the paddock.

Mr Mills said there had been reports from children that the bus was speeding but that could not yet be verified.

He was also aware some parents may be critical about the time it took to find out where their children were but he said it was difficult keeping track of all the children as the company didn't have a list of who was on the bus.

There was also another bus following behind, complicating matters as some parents were trying to locate children who were not in fact on the crashed bus.

Police said the driver had been interviewed but no decision on any possible charges would be made until the investigation was completed.

Farmer Steven Thompson said his wife and two teenage children saw the bus go off the side of the road from their house.

He said his son Anthony ran over to the scene, saw the bus was upside down and yelled to family members to call emergency services.

Scrambling

"We could start to see some kids scrambling out and there was certainly a lot of blood," he said. "The kids were pretty shaken and the driver seemed pretty upset."

Mr Thompson said some of the pupils began making calls on their mobile phones and one girl said she and others braced themselves for the impact when the bus began to roll.

Initial reports were that students suffered back injuries, cuts and bruises in the accident which happened at about 7.40am. Emergency services said it was "extremely fortunate" that children escaped serious injury.

The injured children were taken to North Shore, Middlemore, Waitakere and Starship hospitals.

Other students, from five different high schools in the surrounding semi-rural area, were assessed at Riverhead Citizens' Hall by medical staff.

The schools involved were Westlake Girls and Boys Schools, Rosmini College, Carmel College and a Takapuna school.

Waitakere acting chief fire officer Peter Wilding praised the co-operation of parents and the local community while emergency services personnel made sure they had accounted for all the passengers on the bus.

"We weren't able to release the children immediately while we were going through the accounting process and that can be quite trying," he said.

"There are a series of buses that go through that area in the morning and it was difficult to know who should have been on that bus."

In some cases, the process wasn't completed until school had started and class rolls checked.

Mr Mills said he did not think the company's reputation would be harmed by the accident and there was little that could be learned.

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

Cordons were put in place at Ridge Rd and Wake Rd, and Ridge Rd and Coatesville Rd. The road re-opened this afternoon.