‘It still doesn’t feel real’: Survivor of fatal Perth bus crash on how she raised the alarm
Another survivor of the Wanneroo bus crash had spoken about how she helped raise the alarm on the 390 bus.
Aurora Markham, 18, was on her way to work in Perth on Thursday when the routine trip turned into a ride she’ll never forget.
Wanneroo bus crash survivor Aurora Markham was on her way to work when the crash happened. 9News
“I just thought, ‘oh my god, I’m going to die’,” she told 9News.
The 18-year-old quickly realised something wasn’t right.
“The bus has started slowing down a lot,” Markham said.
“I’ve seen cars overtaking it and then I’ve realised we’re in the emergency lane.
“I’ve yelled across the bus, and I’ve said, ‘Is he asleep?’ and I’ve ran to the front.”
Markham says she saw the driver slumped over the wheel of the bus before it crashed into a tree on Joondalup Drive and she blacked out on impact.
“[I’ve] woken up at the front of the bus, the tree right by my head,” she recalled.
“I can’t talk, I was just started screaming.”
The 18-year-old suffered a concussion, as well as multiple cuts and bruises to her legs, arms, face and hip.
Tha Banksia Grove woman remembers a man trying to alert the driver.
She believes that man was Rooney Taua, the 61-year old who has now passed away.
Rooney Taua died following the crash and is believed to be the one who tried to alert the driver. 9News
“It still doesn’t feel real, it hasn’t set in this has actually happened,” Markham said.
The 56-year-old bus driver, who suffered minor injuries in the fatal crash has now left hospital.
While a 59-year-old female passenger remains at Royal Perth Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
None of the more than 1600 public buses in WA have seatbelts for their passengers.
This fatal crash reigniting calls to give people the choice to buckle up if they want to.
The fatal crash has reignited the seatbelt debate. 9News
“I don’t know of any city that has put in an optional, stage process, for seatbelts on these types of buses,” Ingrid Johnston from the Australasian College of Road Safety said.
Markham believes it still may serve a purpose.
“Even if it’s just there as an option, not reinforced, I feel like that would still be good,” she said.
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