Double-decker crashes into garden during rush-hour

A DOUBLE-DECKER bus ploughed into the front garden of a house yesterday.

Two passengers and the bus driver were taken to hospital. They were said to be suffering from shock.

The number 121 was returning into Dublin city from Drimnagh when it veered off Clonard Road at the junction with Kildare Road, crashing into a front garden, at around 9.15am.

The crash shocked residents at house number 67.

Edel Murphy was sleeping when she heard a loud bang outside. She looked out her window and saw the bus in her front garden.

Gardaí said that no other vehicle was involved in the crash. Dublin Bus said “thankfully” nobody was seriously hurt.

An investigation was launched into the cause of the crash by gardaí and Dublin Bus.

One eyewitness later said she had seen a passenger try to take control of the wheel after the driver slumped in her seat: “There was a young lad trying to take control of the bus. He was trying his best but he couldn’t. I don’t think the driver knew where she was,” the witness told RTÉ radio.

She also described the panic that descended: “Everybody started running. Everybody tried to help. The driver was actually in the cab but nobody could get her out.

“A man got a screwdriver and was able to open the driver’s cab.”