Runaway bus miracle
Published: August 17, 2007
FORTY-FIVE people were taken to hospital last night after a private bus careered out of control in Cork city centre.
One of the victims was seriously injured. The coach - a private-hire vehicle - was bringing members of the St Finbarr’s Social Club, for older people, to a social function when it inexplicably spun out of control on Wellington Road shortly before 8pm.
The bus collided with a tree before ploughing into a telegraph pole.
It finally stopped after smashing into four parked cars.
Onlookers said it was a miracle no one was killed. They described scenes of near hysteria as pedestrians rushed to help both the bus passengers and a number of people who were injured by flying debris.
One of those injured was former Progressive Democrats TD, Mairin Quill, who was in a parked car at the time. She was taken to hospital in a wheelchair.
Forty of those taken to hospital were from the coach. They were aged from their mid-50s to their 80s. The other five people injured were all either pedestrians struck by flying debris or occupants of cars struck by the coach.
The bulk of the injuries involved cuts, bruises and shock. However, emergency services said none of the injuries were believed to be life threatening.
A fleet of ambulances transferred the injured to Cork hospitals and gardai immediately sealed off the accident scene pending a full investigation.
Gardai also began interviewing eyewitnesses who saw the coach as it spun out of control.
Earlier, a driver was killed after he was crushed by his cement truck as he attempted to open a gate.
Patsy McGuinness (65) was delivering cement to a construction site where apartments are being built on Point Road in Dundalk, Co Louth, when the accident happened.
It was the third tragedy to affect the McGuinness family, from Cortial, Kilkerley, in Dundalk, in the past few months. A younger brother of Mr McGuinness had died suddenly recently, and his mother had also passed away.
Mr McGuinness had just jumped out of his vehicle to open the gate at around 6.30am.
It is believed he walked in front of the truck towards the gate but he was crushed after the massive cement truck rolled forwards.
Mr McGuinness was rushed to Louth County Hospital. He is survived by his wife Suzie, and several grown-up sons.
“He was from an extremely hard working family who have had tragedy visit them with the death of their brother, another brother and their mother who died in recent months,” Louth councillor Declan Breathnach said.
Mr McGuinness was described locally as a “big community man” who, in his younger years, was involved in the GAA and training the ladies football team. The body builder had also worked as a bouncer in several pubs in the Co Louth area in the past.
Meanwhile, a young man has died in hospital as a result of a road traffic accident near the border last Sunday.
Gardai from Hackballscross station in Co Louth are investigating the fatal road collision which happened at 10.30am at Rassan, Hackballscross, about five miles from Dundalk.
The victim was named yesterday by gardai as Steven Rice (27) from Crossmaglen, Co Armagh.
He suffered a head injury after he fell from the back of a jeep.
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