Grandmother falls down stairs of bus
Nora Youngman, of Blacksmiths Crescent, Sompting, was travelling to Asda in Ferring with her three-year-old grandson Daniel on February 1.
They sat upstairs on the 700 Stagecoach and waited until the bus stopped to move down the stairs.
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Hide AdBut when the bus driver suddenly pulled off again both were thrown down the stairs.
Mrs Youngman, 65, said: “We stayed sitting until the bus stopped then started coming down the stairs.
“I was not holding onto the rail because I had my shopping bag in one hand and with the other I was holding Daniel’s hand.
“We were only sitting on the top deck so Daniel could ‘drive the bus’, he was really excited about it. The bus suddenly moved off and we were thrown from top to bottom and as I came down I hit the back of my head.
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Hide Ad“I am in a lot of pain from the way I hit my shoulder as I was coming down. My grandson flew over the top of me and landed at the bottom of the stairs. “He hit the pole between his legs and those on the bus started screaming.
“Daniel himself was screaming like a trapped animal and I did not know where I was, it was awful.
“He was very badly bruised, sore and frightened and the doctors do not know if the accident will have done him any lasting damage.”
Mrs Youngman was helped to the Asda store by other passengers. The pensioner says she goes everywhere by bus but the experience has made her panicky.
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Hide Ad“I will never go upstairs on a bus again,” she said, “And I get worried about being the last on the bus in case the driver makes a sudden movement.
“I just want people to know what is happening on buses so they can take extra care.”
A spokesperson for Stagecoach South said: “The safety and welfare of our customers is our top priority and we are sorry to hear of any case where a customer has had an issue using our services.
“Notices on our vehicles advise customers to remain seated until the bus is stationary at its stop. Regrettably, we understand the passengers in this
case did not follow this safety advice and instead started to descend the stairs while the vehicle was temporarily stationary in traffic. We very
much hope the passengers involved have now recovered.”