Passengers injured as yobs detonate fireworks on packed D&G bus
Police are investigating after passengers were injured when yobs detonated fireworks on a bus. Passengers reported hearing a ‘gunshot’ as the fireworks were let off on the number 9 D&G bus in Shelton[1].
Eye-witnesses say one passenger had up to 10 wounds on their legs. Another suffered cuts to their ankles.
Pensioner Brian Joseph and his wife were on the Stoke to Hanley bus when it stopped on College Road at 6.57pm on Wednesday. His wife suffered smoke inhalation.
READ: Dad who fled Sudan for new life in Stoke-on-Trent left disabled by coked-up driver[2] ¦ Ex-Amazon worker Jazouli Yakoub, 32, has been left permanently disabled after being mowed down near his Fenton home
READ: Everything we know about Elianne Andam, 15, murdered in Croydon bus stop stabbing[3] ¦ The kind 15-year-old was an aspiring lawyer with a younger brother she helped look after
Retired Brian, aged 73, from Hanley, said: “We stopped on College Road. The bus was pretty full, probably around 38 to 40 people. It was mostly working people returning home.
“Two people got on the bus, a lady and a gentleman, one of them had an identity lanyard around her neck which indicated she might have worked nearby. After they stepped onto the bus, it sounded like a gunshot. We were looking at each other thinking what was it? Just then, fireworks exploded in the foyer of the bus. They were blue and then multicoloured. It went on for over a minute.
“The other passengers were shouting to the driver to shut the door. We didn’t know if there was a gunman or something so the driver shut the door and nothing happened for about 10 seconds.
“He was about to drive off so I got up and said ‘you need to stop the bus because there are two injured people here’. I could see one of them had around 10 wounds in their legs.
“I called 999 at 6.59pm. I was on the phone for 10 minutes and all I was getting was questions. I said to them ‘you need to get here quickly’ but she kept asking for more details.
“The other passengers were getting impatient and wanted to know what was happening. I asked the police if anybody was coming but they couldn’t say.
“I offered to step off the bus with the most injured person and wait with them until the ambulance came to let the bus carry on. She said she wanted to carry on with the bus so I told the driver.”
Brian says he is still to provide a formal statement to Staffordshire Police[4]. West Midlands Ambulance Service[5] was alerted to the incident before being stood down by the police.
A spokesperson from West Midlands Ambulance Service said: “We were called to an incident on College Road in Shelton, Stoke on Trent just after 7pm on Wednesday. An ambulance was sent to the scene however, prior to arrival, we were stood down by police.”
A police spokesman said: “We were called at 7pm on Wednesday to reports that two people had received leg injuries as a result of fireworks being thrown onto a bus outside Stoke-on-Trent College. We have spoken to the witness that reported the incident and a manager at the bus company and are keen to speak to the injured people and any other witnesses.”
StokeonTrentLive has approached D&G for a statement regarding the incident. Witnesses should call the police on 101, quoting incident number 690 of 27 September, or call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.
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References
- ^ Shelton (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
- ^ Dad who fled Sudan for new life in Stoke-on-Trent left disabled by coked-up driver (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
- ^ Everything we know about Elianne Andam, 15, murdered in Croydon bus stop stabbing (www.mylondon.news)
- ^ Staffordshire Police (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
- ^ West Midlands Ambulance Service (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
- ^ Sign up to our main daily newsletter here and get all the latest news straight to your inbox for FREE (data.reachplc.com)