Hero dad stops runaway bus
Published: August 24, 2006
A motorist has been hailed ‘the hero of the day’ after stopping a runaway bus by driving his car into its path as it careered down a road without a driver.
The incident happened on Tuesday just before 2.45pm, in Prince of Wales Road, Norwich, when the single decker bus, owned by First, started moving.
It travelled from Castle Meadow, along Agricultural Plain and to the junction of Prince of Wales Road and Bank Plain, causing damage to street furniture and another vehicle.
Luckily, nobody was injured and no passengers were on board.
The bus was waiting for a driver change-over, but the second driver was late.
Dean Sutcliffe, 33, of Thetford, saw the bus careering down the road and managed to drive his Vauxhall into the path of the vehicle to halt it.
Roger Haywood, First communications adviser, praised the actions of Mr Sutcliffe.
“His car was hit by the bus and it spun him around a bit,” said Mr Haywood.
“In his wisdom, courage and skill, he accelerated his car and pushed the bus on to the kerb. It was a tremendous act of bravery. His two children were in the back of the car.
He added: “The bus was heading for a pedestrian crossing and lots of people could have been injured.
“We would like to thank the driver and commend him for his quick thinking and courage. There is no doubt he was the hero of the day.”
Mr Haywood said First had provided Mr Sutcliffe with a hire car and was paying him compensation for the damage caused to his own vehicle.
Pc Rebecca Wood, investigating officer, said: “Following an examination of the bus, we now know that the engine was running as the vehicle left Castle Meadow and travelled to Prince of Wales Road.
“Clearly, we need to establish exactly when the engine was started. I would now like to appeal to anyone who was in Castle Meadow, either waiting for a bus or walking past the bus stops there, to contact me if they have any information about this.”
Pc Wood said inquires were being made into reports of two youths being seen on the bus prior to the collision. The youths were seen to get on and off the bus about 15 minutes before it started to move away from Castle Meadow.
Pc Wood also praised the quick thinking of Mr Sutcliffe.
“There is no doubt that the action he took prevented injury to others,” she said.
“There was a large number of pedestrians in the area and traffic was stationary in two lanes – his actions are to be commended.”
Police are keen to hear from anybody who witnessed the incident, particularly from anyone who saw the bus parked in Castle Meadow.
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