Incredible moment man is flattened by out-of-control bus

Pic:The moment the man is hit from behind by the double-decker bus
Staff reporter(wp):

A man was smashed from behind and sent flying through the air by an out-of-control bus in a dramatic crash in central Reading.

Shocking CCTV footage shows the victim walking across the road when a double-decker bus suddenly comes hurtling around the corner of a busy town centre street.

He is immediately struck down and thrown forward as the vehicle then crashes into a bus stop, sending glass and debris flying in all directions.

Incredibly, the victim is then seen picking himself up and walking through the scene of carnage towards the Purple Turtle pub.

The pub’s CCTV footage shows the victim being tended to by about a dozen concerned passers-by, including a man wearing a Reading Buses top.

The bus itself appears to sustain a shattered windscreen following the impact, before coming to a halt a short distance away following the incident on Gun Street at 9am on Saturday.

The victim is believed to be Simon Smith, who told BBC South Today he felt “lucky to be alive” following the crash.

A Reading Buses spokesman confirmed the pedestrian was injured, but said he was not seriously hurt.

He said the driver had been "taken off the road" while an investigation into the incident was carried out.

It is not yet known what caused the bus to crash and there have been no arrests.

The Reading Buses spokesman said: "We are obviously shocked by the incident as well as the very graphic footage that has been shared a number of times.

"Thankfully, the pedestrian does not have any major injuries and there were no major injuries to passengers on the bus.

"The incident is the subject of an ongoing internal investigation as well as an investigation by the police with whom we are working and sharing footage from our on-board CCTV, so it would be inappropriate for us to comment or speculate on this until it has run its course.

"We can assure the public that all our drivers are incredibly professional and trained to the highest standard. Our buses receive regular checks by our award-winning engineering department.

"We send our regrets to those affected, especially the pedestrian injured in the street and hope that he is recovering from his injuries."

A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police said: “We were called to a road traffic collision involving a bus and a pedestrian in Gun Street at 9.13am on Saturday.

“The ambulance was called to the scene. The road was closed for about two hours.

“No arrests have been made.”