A HOLYWOOD boy has spoken of the chaos in the double decker bus after it overturned into a field on Monday.
Danny Osman, a Strangford College student, helped move metal poles after the traumatising crash, freeing a friend, despite sustaining minor injuries himself.
Danny was talking to his friends as normal when the crash occurred. Shortly before 3.50pm, Danny felt and heard a bang when he was sitting at the back of the bus before the vehicle began to topple into the field.
Luckily, Danny was wearing a seatbelt when this occurred, saving him from serious injury, although he blacked out for a few moments.
Waking up to a ‘scene out of a film’ Danny said he tried to remain calm.
Calming his panicking friends, Danny quickly rang emergency services and his mother, sharing his location with her so she could find him.
“Many people were panicking, but my mum taught me what to do in this situation, staying calm and calling emergency services and my mum,” said Danny.
“When I saw the bus tipping, I tightened my seatbelt so I didn’t fall. My old friend from primary school was on the other side of me, he pushed against me as it was falling.
“I was thinking of getting a pole and breaking a window to get out, but by then this guy came with a hammer and broke it.
“I told everyone to get back from the window, so glass couldn’t get onto them.
“Everyone evacuated and I tried to get to my friends to see if they were okay, because one of my friends had injured themselves very badly. I went over to them and comforted them.
“Also there were some people stuck under all of the metal pipes before anyone got there. I was helping one of my school friends with a metal pole, because there was one pushed against him.
“I had to lift it up to get him out, it was really really scary at first.
“After the crash I didn’t really feel any pain. Once I got out I laid down for about five minutes, then the adrenaline went away and I started to feel really bad pain in my ribs. I thought I had broken them. My left arm was sore and I hit my head when the bus was falling.”
Danny’s mother, Emma, praised the effectiveness of the emergency services. However, she also believes there should be a review on using double-decker buses on smaller country roads.
“It was definitely very traumatic for them all as you can imagine. It could have been so much worse,” said Emma. “There are things that need to come off the back of this, like the use of double-decker buses and the roads they are on.
“I am grateful he is here, that he is fine. He was wearing his seatbelt which is amazing. I think that helped him not be too badly hurt, it would have been much worse if he didn’t have one on,” she added.
