Shropshire Star

Four hurt as bus and lorry collide in Shropshire

[gallery] Four men were rushed to hospital after a bus and an articulated lorry crashed on a main road through Shropshire.

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Both drivers and two bus passengers were taken to hospital after the collision in Little Stretton at the junction of the A49 and B5477 last night.

A spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) said two men were in a "potentially serious condition".

Fire crews were first on the scene and treated the bus driver, the lorry driver and two passengers.

Four ambulances and a paramedic officer also attended along with an off-duty WMAS paramedic and a Welsh Ambulance Service paramedic, who were both driving by and stopped to assist.

The bus driver, a man in his 30s, was thought to have fractured his ribs. One passenger was left with "nasty facial injuries" and the other was found outside the vehicle with head abrasion and aches and pains.

The lorry driver, a man in his 40s, injured his lower right leg but had managed to get out of his vehicle.

The four were later taken to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital by ambulance.

The bus had been on its usual route when the crash happened at about 6.30pm. A seven-mile stretch of the A49 was closed between Church Stretton and Craven Arms while a recovery operation for the large vehicles got under way.

Tracy Ryan, force duty inspector for West Mercia Police, said: "We were called to a collision between an articulated lorry and a passenger bus at the A49 junction with Little Stretton.

"Four male casualties were taken by ambulance to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital with minor injuries.

"Four fire crews, two ambulance and seven police patrol cars attended the scene.

"The B5477 was closed as was the A49 from the traffic lights at Church Stretton to Craven Arms and motorists were diverted via Corvedale.

"There have been no arrests. It will be investigated as a normal collision. Both drivers will have been breathalysed at the scene and will be spoken to by police under caution."

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: "The HGV collided with the mid-point of the driver's side of the bus causing considerable damage. The bus was swung round almost ninety degrees and the two vehicles finished against each other

"A passenger who was fortunately sitting just in front of the impact point suffered nasty facial injuries. The man, who was estimated to be in his 30s, was immobilised before being taken to Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

"Initial reports suggested an 18 year old man at the rear of the coach had been ejected and had been unconscious for a period. When ambulance crews arrived he was out of the bus but fully conscious. He was suffering from a head abrasion, aches and pains. As a precaution he was also immobilised and taken to the same hospital.

"The bus driver, a man in his 30s, was suffering from possible fractured ribs. He was also taken to the Royal Shrewsbury for further assessment and treatment.

"The lorry driver, who was in his 40s, suffered a lower right leg injury but had managed to get out of his vehicle. After assessment at the scene, he went to the same hospital as the other three.

"When one considers the damage and where people were sitting, this could easily have been a very much more serious incident."

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