Emergency stop bus: pensioner unconscious

A WORTHING pensioner is still recovering after losing consciousness when the bus she was travelling on performed an emergency stop.
By The Newsroom
Published 2nd Apr 2014, 14:30 BST
W12367H14-MargaretPackhamFall Margaret Packham, who had a fall on a Stagecoach bus, when it did an emergency stop, throwing out of her seat to the front of the bus and knocking her unconscious. Worthing. SUS-140325-171214001W12367H14-MargaretPackhamFall Margaret Packham, who had a fall on a Stagecoach bus, when it did an emergency stop, throwing out of her seat to the front of the bus and knocking her unconscious. Worthing. SUS-140325-171214001
W12367H14-MargaretPackhamFall Margaret Packham, who had a fall on a Stagecoach bus, when it did an emergency stop, throwing out of her seat to the front of the bus and knocking her unconscious. Worthing. SUS-140325-171214001

Margaret Packham, 66, was travelling from Heene Terrace to Littlehampton on the Stagecoach 700 bus at around 10.15am on Saturday, March 1, when she was thrown from her seat and landed next to the bus driver’s cab.

She was taken to Worthing Hospital by ambulance and spent 26 hours in hospital with concussion and haematomas in her legs and bottom.

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Mrs Packham, of Heene Road, said: “My husband and I were sitting on the first double seat behind the driver which has not even got a bar in front of it.

“I was holding Richard’s left hand when a woman walked out in front of the bus between Sea Place and Shaftesbury Avenue and he had to do an emergency stop.

“I can remember coming out of my seat and being right at the front of the bus by the driver. I have got two dirty great big lumps on my bottom and I still cannot sit or lay down easily and I also have concussion.
“Imagine if that had been an 80-year-old or a child, I hate to think what might have happened.”

Mrs Packham, who is registered disabled and walks with a stick, says that health and safety on buses should be improved.

“There was nothing on that side to stop me from falling.

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“After the ambulance took me to hospital, the driver just carried on with his shift despite the fact that he was shaking like a leaf.

“I was so traumatised afterwards that I could not even talk about it so I do not know how he must have felt.

“I have since been in touch with Stagecoach about claiming on their insurance and they said I would be sent the relevant forms to fill in but so far I have received nothing.

“I want to take action, especially as the consultant in the hospital said that it could take months for me to heal.

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“I was in so much pain in the hospital that they administered morphine all night as I could not move.

“It is not as if I am young and sprightly and I have already had four operations on my back, so when I came round and could not move I felt terror because I did not know what was going on.

“Richard was also completely shocked.
“We had only got on the bus at Heene Road, it is not what you expect to happen.

“I honestly think that the only reason I did not break something was because I was so relaxed and did not see what was happening until it was too late.”

Stagecoach was contacted for a comment but had not responded by the time the Herald went to press.

Related topics:LittlehamptonStagecoach