Mum describes son’s screams on phone after bus toppled with 43 children on board --[Reported by Umva mag]

The mother of a 12-year-old boy who narrowly survived a major bus crash has spoken of the terror she felt as she heard his screams on the phone.

Youngster Dylan Lee was sitting on the top deck of a double-decker bus carrying 43 pupils from Strangford College to Bangor, when it overturned and ended up on its side in a field on Monday afternoon.

Local MP Jim Duggan said it was a ‘miracle’ nobody was seriously hurt during the inicdent in Carrowdore, Co Down in Northern Ireland.

Describing the incident, Dylan said: ‘The bus hit a post and it started to stall and went down this hill.

‘It just started shaking. I closed my eyes and then I opened them and I was on the floor. The first thing I did when I got up was to phone my mum.’

He said a man with a hammer came to their aid and smashed the windows so the could escape.

‘I was crawling under stuff like railings and school bags and stuff. It was on its side in the field,’ he continued.

Dylan’s mother Stacey Lee said: ‘All I could hear was screaming and shouting.

‘Dylan was shouting “mum we’ve crashed, the bus has crashed. I’m alright, I’m alive.”‘

Two children were rescued from the bus by firefighters using specialist cutting equipment, and four were taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Jim Shannon, the MP for the area, said it was a miracle nobody was seriously hurt.

The DUP MP told BBC Good Morning Ulster he was in parliament at the time of the accident, and was proud of the local community for rallying together in the aftermath.

He said: ‘The photographs illustrate the issue. A high bank, the bus fell over the bank, fell on its side.

‘If you are a person in a bus that is rolling or falling you are like a stone in a box, you just go with whatever direction it is going.

‘Every one of the pupils were traumatised by what has happened.

‘I have been in touch with the Education Minister (Paul Givan), I have also spoken with some of the people who assisted.

‘A man who lives not more than a couple of hundred yards away, he noticed the bus going over and he ran over and, unknown to him, his daughter was on the bus.

‘The people who came to help – the workmen, the farmers, the whole community, the animal charity which is just a matter of yards away – all these people came as they did to help, as quick as they could to get the children out of the bus.

‘It is a miracle, an absolute miracle that there wasn’t worse injuries or, worse, fatalities.’

Mr Shannon said he did not want to speculate on the reasons for the crash, stating his priority is the welfare of the pupils.

He said: ‘There are four people – one with a pelvic injury, one with an arm injury, one with a leg injury, one with a hand injury – they are still in hospital.’

The MP said repairs have been carried out on the stretch of road where the accident occurred.

He added: ‘The main focus at this time is to make sure the children are all right.

‘One of the parents told me yesterday that when their daughter came home she was all over the place.

‘The physical trauma that she is feeling is clear, but there is also an emotional trauma.

‘I understand from the minister that he will have extra staff at Strangford College today to reassure the children and the parents.’

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) intially claimed up to 70 passengers were on board the overturned bus, but later revised the figure to 44, including the driver.

Two people were rescued from the bus by firefighters using specialist cutting equipment.

Public service provider Translink has said it is assisting the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) with their investigation.

The Education Authority has said it will work with Strangford College to provide support for any children affected by the events.

Stormont Health Minister Mike Nesbitt praised the response of emergency services crews and hospital staff.

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