Driver sentenced after girl crushed by bus in Lancashire

A bus driver from Preston has been convicted of driving without due care and attention after reversing and trapping a teenage girl who was trying to move a disability ramp he had left out.

Trevor Shaxon, 57, from Preston, admitted the offence but did not attend the hearing at Preston Magistrates Court.

The court heard how Mr Shaxon had got out of the cab of his blue single-decker Optare bus to lower the wheelchair ramp for a disabled passenger.

Once the wheelchair-user was on board, he then returned to his seat without putting the ramp back up.

A group of teenage girls then got off the bus, and one noticed the ramp was still down, and decided to go and put it away.

But as she reached the ramp, Mr Shaxon started to reverse without checking his mirrors, and trapped the girl between the ramp and some metal barriers.

The girl suffered a broken leg in two places.

Mr Shaxon received seven points on his licence and a fine of £110. He was also ordered to pay £50 costs and a £15 victim's surcharge.

John Asquith, of Preston Bus service, said the driver was no longer working for the company but could not confirm if he was dismissed.

He told the Lancashire Evening Post: "Unfortunately it was one of our local services and clearly an incident has occurred that we are liable for.

He added: "A series of circumstances led to the driver being distracted. We immediately made contact with the girl's family. She was under 18 and her dad had parental responsibility for her. We were aware that she had suffered an injury to her leg."

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