Bus Éireann probe launched as boy falls from school bus emergency exit

BUS ÉIREANN are investigating the case of a teenage boy who was injured when he fell out of the emergency exit of a moving bus as it carried youngsters home from school in Co Monaghan, it was confirmed yesterday.

The accident happened on Monday evening near the village of Oram on the road to Keady.

The boy sustained head and shoulder injuries. His condition at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin was described by a spokeswoman as stable.

A Bus Éireann spokesman said the bus was travelling from Castleblayney College and, as the driver neared a left turn, a buzzer sounded warning the emergency door had flung open.

“The driver stopped the bus immediately and found the boy who had fallen out lying on the road,” he said.

Gardaí and an ambulance were called to the scene and the 13-year-old was taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. He was later transferred to Beaumont.

The spokesman added that the bus was fully fitted with seatbelts and 16 pupils were on board. The bus had a capacity of 49.

It is understood the bus was travelling at around 10-15kmph when the boy fell out. Notices that all schoolchildren should wear the seatbelts provided had been placed on board and letters were sent to parents to ask them to encourage youngsters to belt up.

Transport Minister Martin Cullen admitted there had been a “pretty bad run” of accidents involving school buses in the last year. “I have instigated a full independent review of all systems and how we carry out maintenance and management. We have had, and still have, one of the best international records for safety.

“We have had a pretty bad run in the last 12 months, I have to accept that and these factors have pushed us to look at this,” he said.Yesterday afternoon a number of pupils who were travelling on the bus at the time of the accident were interviewed by gardaí and Bus Éireann officials. According to garda sources, there were claims the door may have been manually opened as the vehicle was travelling.

It is understood the injured schoolboy’s family requested gardaí not to disclose his identify. The accident happened on the eve of the day another bus carrying 32 students to Athboy Community School from the Delvin area of Co Meath developed a fire which destroyed the bus.

Students on the bus had noticed smoke and alerted the driver who immediately evacuated all the passengers.