Peshwari Naan

Scottish Television reports on 15th October 2008...


Coach driver admits causing crash

Three passengers died when bus overturned in accident near Heathrow Airport.

A coach driver from Carluke has admitted causing the deaths of three passengers in a crash near Heathrow Airport. Phillip Rooney was behind the wheel of a London to Aberdeen double decker which overturned last year. Rescuers described the crash as one of the worst they had encountered.

At 11.45 on the third of January last year the National Express coach overturned on a slip road near Heathrow airport and careered along the ground.

Sixty nine people including the driver and his co-driver were on board, some had to be cut free from the wreckage. Casualties, many of whom had lost limbs, were taken to six hospitals.

Seventy-six-year-old Christina Toner from Dundee and 30-year-old Yi Di Lin, who was Chinese, died in the crash. Seventy-eight-year-old John Carruthers from Surrey died six months later in hospital.

At the Old Bailey in London today, the coach driver Phillip Rooney from Carluke admitted three charges of causing death by dangerous driving.

He spoke only to answer his name and admit the charges, and the facts of the case were not opened. The driver has suffered post traumatic stress disorder since the crash.

Following the incident, National Express suspended use of the 12 double deck Skyliner coaches that were operating on its network. No safety problems were found and the vehicles were reinstated five months later.

Phillip Rooney will be sentenced next month.

Reuters reports on 15th October 2008...

Coach driver admits causing fatal crash

LONDON (Reuters) - A National Express coach driver admitted on Wednesday being responsible for causing a crash on a motorway slip road near Heathrow Airport that left three people dead.

Philip Rooney, 48, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving when he appeared at the Old Bailey, the Press Association reported.

Three passengers in his double-decker coach were killed and dozens others were seriously injured when the vehicle overturned as it left the M4 motorway to join the M25.

Many of those on the overnight London to Aberdeen service had to be cut from the wreckage, with those on board describing the scene as mayhem.

Rooney, from Carluke in Scotland, was behind the wheel when the crash took place on January 3 last year and admitted three counts of death by dangerous driving. He was bailed to be sentenced on November 24.

Christina Toner, 76, from Dundee, and 30-year-old Yi Di Lin, a Chinese national, died in the crash.

John Carruthers, 78, of Chertsey in Surrey, died six months later in hospital.

After the accident, National Express temporarily withdrew its entire fleet of 12 double-decker coaches.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Steve Addison)

The Daily Telegraph website shows on 15th October 2008...


M4 National Express coach crash driver admits causing death of three passengers
The driver of a National Express coach which overturned on a motorway slip road killing three people has admitted causing the fatal crash.



By Aislinn Simpson
Last Updated: 4:48PM BST 15 Oct 2008

Scotsman Phillip Rooney, 48, was behind the wheel of a London to Aberdeen double-decker which overturned on the M4 slip road near Heathrow airport after the Christmas break on January 3 last year.

Appearing before the Old Bailey , Mr Rooney, of Carluke, Lanarkshire, admitted three counts of causing the deaths by dangerous driving and was warned he faces a substantial jail sentence.

Those who died were Christina Toner, 76, from Dundee , whose husband Jimmy, 80, a former Dundee Utd and Leeds footballer, was badly hurt, a 31-year-old Chinese man, Xi Yin, and John Carruthers, 78, of Chertsey, Surrey, who died from his injuries six months after the crash.

Dozens more people were injured in the crash, including a boy of three and a seven-month-old girl. Some had limbs torn off as the coach skidded along the road.

Following the incident, National Express immediately suspended use of the 12 double-deck coaches that were operating on its network, but no safety problems were found and the coaches were reinstated five months later.

Mr Rooney's stepson, Richard Gordon said he deeply regretted what happened.

"Phil is a family man who is shattered by what has happened and the way this has affected everyone," he said.

Mr Justice Gross released Mr Rooney on bail ahead of his sentencing on 24 November.

He told the driver, who has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder since the accident: "Can I make it plain that substantial custody is inevitable."

BBC News website shows on 15th October 2008...

Driver admits coach death charges

A coach driver from Lanarkshire has admitted causing the deaths of three passengers by dangerous driving in a crash near Heathrow Airport.

Philip Rooney, 48, was driving the National Express London to Aberdeen service when it overturned on a slip road of the M4 on 3 January 2007.

Two people died soon afterwards and a third died six months later.

At the Old Bailey in London, Mr Justice Gross bailed Rooney until sentencing on 24 November.

Christina Toner, 76, from Dundee, and Yi Di Lin, 30, a Chinese national, died in the crash while John Carruthers, 78, of Chertsey, Surrey died in hospital on 1 July.

Ned Kelly writes on 12th October 2008...

...We got as far as Reading, and from there we could get no further. We called the train company, nothing until the morning. My dear friend scampered up to campus to find out if there was a coach we could get and relay the information to me from 200 miles away (you are still a star, and I love you very much, though on reflection I won't inflict my firstborn on you). There was, she told us where and when and how much and off we went. We get there. We wait. No coach. Nothing. We phone National Express, who tell us that the coach was full and so didn't stop where it was supposed to. So now we're stranded OUTSIDE Reading with no way of getting anywhere, let alone home. We tried to intercept the coach at Bristol, but there were no trains there either. Eventually, having abandoned the idea of getting home that night after even looking into car hire, a lovely taxi driver takes us around the city to find us a hotel. We had to ask at 11 different places before we found one with a room free. By this time it was nearly 2am.

Shanghai posts on 9th October 2008...

I stayed in London and bought a ticket for a bus to Scouseland. The grumpy female who sold it to me directed me to the appropriate bay in Victoria. The driver looks at my sports bag. "Too big, it'll have to go in the hold". "It wasnt too big last time,anyway it has breakables in it". I said. He threw the bag in the hold. "If there is anything broken..." "Then tough luck" he sneered. "Who are your (i.e National Express) solicitors? They have limited liability which means they have some liability. Antique clocks do not take well to being chucked. All aboard. Next effing thing is that we have to fasten safety belts. In nearly 50 years I have not bothered to to this in a coach. AND I AM NOT BLOODY WELL GOING TO NOW. El Monkey spanker of driver says nowt and we give evil stares.

The Masked Writer posts on 7th October 2008...

...THE TIME 21.03 THE BUS 920 NATIONAL EXPRESS THE PLACE M6 NORTH BOUND
The passengers on the 920 national express on the M6 tonight have no idea how lucky they are to be alive; the bus came up along side and passed me and I gave a courtesy flash letting the bus driver know it was save to pull in. THEN all of a sudden as soon as it was in front of me he stood on the brakes and yawed the bus into the service station. How in the wet my 44 ton of bright orange Volvo livered angry juggernaut missed him ill never know, in fact I am sure that in some weird twilight zone sort of way we did not miss eachother but we sort of some how merged a bit, it was that close.