Shortly after this morning's (20 May) rush hour, a car and a bus were involved in a collision where the Busway crosses the B1050 at Longstanton. The car caught fire, and shortly afterwards that fire spread to the bus. Both vehicles were gutted in the resulting inferno.
The bus was a Stagecoach single decker on an outbound service. All the passengers were evacuated before the bus caught fire, but the driver was injured during the incident.
The bus came to rest on the bridleway to the north of the crossing, with the car seemingly almost alongside it on its offside.
There have been a number of sets of photographs and a couple of reports compiled during the course of the day, although none that I have seen yet attempt to explain what happened. Here are some links to Cambridgeshire Live, Cambridge Independent and BBC reports and photo galleries:
https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/local-news/live-updates-longstanton-bus-fire-16300218
https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/local-news/longstanton-guided-busway-fire-stagecoach-16301288
https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/local-news/pictures-show-busway-fire-longstanton-16300739
https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/local-news/gallery/bus-engulfed-by-flames-16301347
https://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/fire-after-bus-and-car-crash-on-guided-busway-9070720/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-48336219
Video from Geoff Robinson Photography courtesy of The Sun, shows vertical view from drone:
ReplyDeleteblob:https://www.thesun.co.uk/35fd250e-fb25-4f09-8e5d-da4381664cf8
from
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9117859/bus-burst-into-flames-cambridgeshire/
Thanks to Stephen for spotting that.
ReplyDeleteOther news: the bus driver is "OK", according to a Fenstanton driver I asked earlier this afternoon. Understandably, quite shaken. The BBC is reporting that the car driver sustained serious injuries. And Stagecoach - according to both the BBC and Cambridgeshire Live - state that the bus was crossing the B1050 on a green traffic light.
No follow-up by the authorities as yet. Anyone know which body is responsible?
ReplyDeleteI would have thought it would be the police, since the incident seems to have involved traffic lights. Much the same as rail level crossings? Of course, if the lights were faulty, then the County Council (cf Network Rail for the railways). But that's just my opinion...
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