Driver seriously injured after bus slams into bridge
Updated . First published at
A driver has been seriously injured after his bus slammed into a rail bridge in Port Adelaide, leaving him trapped in the wreckage for more than an hour.
The crash happened on busy Commercial Road about 8.30am, injuring the 37-year-old driver and four passengers on board.
A bus driver has been seriously injured after crashing into a concrete rail bridge pylon in Port Adelaide. 9News
Emergency crews laid out stretchers across the road as they treated the injured, with off-duty medical staff also rushing in to help.
The driver and one passenger were trapped in the wreckage, prompting a major operation to get them out.
Firefighters pulled the bus away from the bridge to reach the passenger, while paramedics worked to free the driver, whose legs were pinned.
“Both had significant injuries from the impact of the bus and the crumpling of the bus onto the patients themselves,” Special Operations SA Ambulance’s Clinton Daniels said.
The impact left the driver trapped inside the bus as emergency crews and paramedics rushed to help several people on board. 9News
“The driver was extensively trapped through being compressed through his lower limbs.”
It took more than an hour to free the 37-year-old before he was rushed to hospital in a serious condition.
“The patient was quite unwell. They required IV fluids, blood and a significant amount of medication for the extrication to occur,” Daniels said.
A witness told 9News the bus swerved to avoid a car that ran a stop sign, causing it to hit the pylon.
“Well, the person hasn’t stopped at the stop sign, so the bus has swerved to go around it. And a big heavy bus, which people know can’t stop quickly,” they said.
Trains were halted on the bridge during the rescue due to fears the railing might give way.
The Outer Harbor line was eventually reopened, and crews towed the bus away.
Metropolitan Fire Service’s Simon Kirkmoe described it as “one of the more significant accidents we’ve been to with buses in recent times”.
Infrastructure and Transport Minister Joe Szakacs said on social media that his thoughts were with the driver and affected passengers.
No deaths have been reported. Investigations into the crash are continuing.
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