Grandma refused bus ride suffered horror injuries

A great-grandma had to have both legs amputated when she became trapped under a double-decker bus after the driver refused to let her on board.

Joan Scott, then 83, was crushed under the vehicle’s wheels in Wallsend, North Tyneside, on 19 September 2021.

Driver Scott Cliff, 49, had refused the widow access because he thought she had previously used his bus without paying.

He admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving and was jailed for 27 months at Newcastle Crown Court.

Mrs Scott’s walking stick, which was strapped to her wrist, was wedged in the bus doors as Cliff drove off, causing the pensioner to be dragged under the Go North East vehicle.

She remained pinned under the double-decker’s wheels for almost an hour.

Her injuries were so catastrophic she had to have one leg amputated at the scene, and another hours later in hospital.

Sentencing Cliff on Wednesday, Judge Roger Thomas told him: “As the doors opened you saw her coming to the door to get on.

“What you did then, extraordinarily really, was close the doors against her, knowing she was wanting to get on and indeed was about to get on.”

Cliff looked ahead as he pulled away, the judge said, which gave the impression that “what you were doing was not wanting to look at that old lady you knew was wanting to get on the bus”.

Prosecutor Jane Foley said Mrs Scott had gone from an “independent and capable” woman to someone who requires constant care.

The court heard that Cliff, of Lindisfarne Road, Hebburn, had pulled over beyond the actual bus stop, to let a passenger off, but told police afterwards he did not want to let Mrs Scott board as he thought she had got on the week before, without her pass and refused to pay.

Miss Foley said: “As the doors were closing Mrs Scott placed her walking stick, which was strapped around her wrist, in the centre of the doors.

“It seems that the narrow stick wasn’t large enough to activate a safety function on the bus which would otherwise have prevented the doors from closing.

“Mrs Scott was pulled forward by the movement of the bus.

“Once the bus moved off, Mrs Scott fell to the floor and was struck by the bus and trapped by the rear wheels.”

Cliff’s lawyers had argued there was no alarm to indicate Mrs Scott’s stick was caught, he did not know what had happened and he stopped the bus when he realised something was wrong.

Gavin Doig, defending, said it was “incomprehensible” for his client to decide he did not want Mrs Scott to get on to the bus.

He said Cliff had been a bus driver for six years, had good references, no criminal record and “had no way of knowing her walking stick was caught in the door”.

Mrs Scott’s son, Brian, said his mother was “trapped in a broken body caused single-handedly by the actions of one person”.

He added: “Mr Cliff held a position to help and protect the vulnerable by providing a place of safety on the bus, but he didn’t do that for my mother, and that kills me.

“He has destroyed our family. I hope this horrendous incident makes other drivers of all vehicles sit up and take note.”

PC Catherine Lloyd, who led the investigation, said the incident was “absolutely tragic”.

“We all have a responsibility to make sure our roads are as safe as they possibly can be, and we will continue to pursue those who endanger the lives of others whilst behind the wheel.”

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