Thursday, June 13, 2013

'We don't want to die': Police use school bus filled with screaming children as roadblock to try to stop car chase

Schoolchildren as young as five were in tears - crying that they ‘didn’t want to die’ - when a bus packed with 50 pupils was used as a barricade by police in a dramatic car chase.
Parents were left furious after police asked the driver of the 70-seat coach to block the path of a car that had failed to stop in Battlebarrow, Cumbria, during the Appleby Horse Fair last Friday.
Passengers said the youngsters from Appleby Primary School were ‘crying and saying they didn’t want to die’ and teenage pupils described the incident as ‘terrifying’.
Collision: Parents were left furious after police asked the driver of the 70-seat coach to block the path of a car that had failed to stop in Battlebarrow, Cumbria, during the Appleby Horse Fair
Collision: Parents were left furious after police asked the driver of the 70-seat coach to block the path of a car that had failed to stop in Battlebarrow, Cumbria, during the Appleby Horse Fair
The car is understood to have slowed down, but was then involved in a crash with the rear of the bus - operated by Grand Prix Coaches of nearby Brough - which collects children from outlying villages.
Mother-of-two Amanda Daldry, 43, said: ‘The police should have anticipated that the car might not stop and should not have used a school bus as a barricade when there were children on board.’
Mrs Daldry, of Sandforth, whose two daughters were on the bus, said: ‘The police are trained to think of every eventuality - yet they don’t seem to have thought that the car might ram the bus.

‘They should have anticipated that it might not stop. The coach driver did a great thing.  I understand that if he did not do what he did more people might have been hurt.
‘But if the police had the time to go to the coach driver and ask for help, they had time to radio for a police car. They should not have used a school bus. What if some of the kids were seriously hurt?’
However a Cumbria Police spokesman insisted that the car was heading for a road beyond the bus which was thronged with spectators, horses and other schoolchildren.
Scary: Mother Amanda Daldry, 43, of Sandford, Cumbria, is pictured with her two daughters Holly (right) and Jessica (left). Holly said the younger children on the bus 'started crying and thinking they were all going to die'
Scary: Mother Amanda Daldry, 43, of Sandford, Cumbria, is pictured with her two daughters Holly (right) and Jessica (left). Holly said the younger children on the bus 'started crying and thinking they were all going to die'
He said: ‘This request was made by police and was not done to totally block the road but placed in a position for the driver to slow down. Room was left for him to drive past the rear of the bus.’
'The police should have anticipated that the car might not stop and should not have used a school bus as a barricade when there were children on board'
Amanda Daldry, mother of pupils
The move was also backed by Robin Hooper, chief executive of Eden District Council and chairman of the Multi-Agency Strategic Coordination Group, which was policing the fair.
He said: ‘A bus driver was asked to manoeuvre to protect the public and children.’
But Mrs Daldry’s daughter Holly, 15, told how police spoke to the bus driver who then backed the vehicle across the width of the street - while passengers were not told what was happening.
She said: ‘At first I thought he was reversing to turn around but we were waiting for a few minutes. Then there was this big thump. We didn’t see the car coming because we were on the other side.
‘The little kids started crying and thinking they were all going to die.’
Crash: David White, 47, pictured with his son Sam, 14, who was also on the bus at the time of the crash
Crash: David White, 47, pictured with his son Sam, 14, who was also on the bus at the time of the crash
Big event: The Appleby Horse Fair took place last week in the small Cumbrian market town of Appleby
Big event: The Appleby Horse Fair took place last week in the small Cumbrian market town of Appleby
And Sam White, 14, said he ‘saw the car coming up and then the police car behind with blue lights on’, adding that younger boys and girls said: ‘I don't want to die, I'm too young to die.’
Cumbria Police have since met head teachers Rachel Pearson, of Appleby Primary School, and Andy Lund, of Appleby Grammar. Crime Commissioner Richard Rhodes has pledged to investigate.
'I don't want to die, I'm too young to die'
What Sam White, 14, heard younger boys and girls saying
The primary school and Grand Prix Coaches both declined to comment. But Mr Lund said: ‘It is not within the scope of the school to influence (whether it was the correct decision). They have to decide what they do.'
Mr Rhodes said: ‘I met with the parents of children involved in the incident on Friday evening and listened to their concerns.
‘As a result my office will be conducting a review of the constabulary’s procedures and whether they worked within policy. I will report back in due course.’
Steven Quinn, 31, of Newcastle-upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, has been charged with dangerous driving, no insurance, driving otherwise in accordance with a licence and handling stolen goods.

DAILYMAIL

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