Bus driver probed for St Catz bike accident
Emilie was knocked off her mountain bike on Cowley Road
An inquest into the death of student Emilie Harris has concluded that the driver of the bus was driving too fast and may have been breaching regulations. Emilie, a 20 year old first year student of human sciences in St Catz, was crushed under the wheels of a single decker bus, having been knocked off her mountain bike, two years ago on Cowley Road.
The inquest found that the driver, Paul Willis, was chatting to his colleague Henry Stuart, who was standing on a platform at the front of the bus just seconds before the student was killed. Both Willis and Stuart will now go on trial as a result of the findings. Police Constable Stephen Moffat, who investigated the incident, said Willis had been travelling too fast and too close to Emilie. Accident investigators found Harris had been cycling at an estimated speed of 8 mph at the time.
Pc Moffat said that although the bus had been travelling at under 26 mph at the time of the incident, he should have been travelling at around the same speed as Emilie. “He had not given himself any margin for error,” Pc Moffat said. “I think he should have been travelling at the same speed as Emilie. He should have weighed up what was ahead of him.” The inquest, carried out at Oxford Old Assizes, was told how passengers witnessed Willis chatting with Stuart, moments before the accident.
Recording a verdict of accidental death, Coroner Richard Whittington said, “Whether Mr Stuart actually obstructed the vision forwards is unlikely but his presence there must have been a distraction.” Emilie was cycling when she moved out into the road and was hit by the bus outside The Elm Tree pub at 3.28 pm on 26 May 2004. Ambulances and police immediately arrived on the scene but were unable to revive her, and she was pronounced dead at the John Radcliffe Hospital just after 4pm.
CCTV footage taken from the bus showed Emilie cycling in front of the bus two seconds before she was run over. Witnesses of the accident told the inquest that they heard a “thud” shortly before the bus ran over her body. As a result of the inquest’s findings, the court proceedings against Willis, 46, will now resume. The driver is charged with careless driving and breaching passenger service regulations.
His colleague Henry Stuart also faces the charge of breaching passenger service regulations. The Oxford Bus Company issued a statement, saying, “Ever since the tragic accident, our thoughts have been with Emilie’s parents and family. “We can’t comment further at this stage, as a court case involving the driver is still active, and until that time our own inquiry and any possible disciplinary action cannot be concluded.” Harris’ death prompted the launch of a £1.million road safety scheme after it was revealed that Cowley Road was the most dangerous road in Oxfordshire, with the highest accident rate per kilometre of all the shopping streets in the county. Last term St Catz undergraduates produced a naked calendar in memory of Harris’ death, aiming to both commemorate the student’s death and to raise awareness of the dangers of cycling in Oxford.
The proceeds of the calendar, which came to over £1,000, were donated to Emilie’s Charities, an organisation set up by the student’s family and friends soon after her death to raise money for projects she had supported during her gap year.
20th Apr 2006