Schoolgirl, seven, escapes with her life after bus runs a red light
Heart-stopping moment schoolgirl, seven, narrowly avoids being hit by a BUS after driver ran red light as she crossed busy road
- Courtney Flynn was crossing the road in Newport when the bus ran the red light
- Terrifying footage shows the little girl was inches away from being run over
- Courtney just manages to turn around and sprint away before being mown down
- Newport Transport has sacked the driver involved amid a police probe
A rogue bus driver has been sacked after running a red light on a busy road crossing – and missing a seven-year-old girl by just inches.
Heart-stopping video footage shows the moment little Courtney Flynn narrowly avoided death as she dashes out of the way of the oncoming single-decker.
Courtney had waited until the ‘green man’ came on to cross the road with her mother Tracy, 32, as she walked home from school.
But moments after stepping into the road, the bus is seen careening towards the youngster, who manages to turn around and sprint away to safety.
Police and bus company officials are investigating the near miss which happened in Newport, Gwent in Wales.
Courtney is pictured with her mother Tracy as she gets the green light to walk across the road, in Newport, Wales
But moments later, as the seven-year-old steps out into the road, a bus is seen driving through a red light towards her
With just inches to spare, Courtney manages to spin around and dart back to her mother before the bus hits her
Tracy said her little girl, pictured, has been left shaken by the ordeal, which has since seen the bus driver being suspended amid a police investigation into the incident
Terrified mother Tracy said: ‘My little girl was waiting for the green light, as she should do. It came on and she ran ahead.
‘I grabbed her hood but lost my grip. She must’ve heard me shout as she managed to get back out of the way.
‘Another second and she wouldn’t have been here to celebrate her seventh birthday.
‘My little girl loved school but the next day she didn’t want to go. We were both shaken up after it happened, and she missed school the following day as we couldn’t face that road so soon.
‘She’s still a bit wary by that road.
‘After it happened she wouldn’t hold my hand. She was shaking and I was shaking too.’
Mother-of-two Tracy said the bus driver made no attempt to apologise following the near miss on October 13.
‘He just looked straight ahead and kept going. He upped his speed to get away from us,’ she said.
‘When she goes to the lights now she is wary.’
She believes the driver being sacked was the right decision – adding: ‘I’m glad that something’s been done, I wouldn’t want to see other people being hurt like we could have been.
‘He could have hurt my little girl – or killed her – so I worry others could have been hurt.
Tracy, pictured with Courtney, said her little girl could have been killed had the bus hit her
Scott Pearson, managing director of Newport Transport which runs the bus, said the company was ‘deeply sorry for the distress caused to Courtney and her family’. Courtney is pictured running back to her mother as the bus passes her by
‘We would not want a parent to lose a child or loved one.’
Scott Pearson, managing director of Newport Transport, said: ‘We are deeply sorry for the distress caused to Courtney and her family.
‘We took immediate action and suspended the driver from service.
‘Following the completion of the internal review, the driver has now been dismissed from the company.
‘Safety is paramount to us, our drivers undergo extensive training to ensure the safety of our passengers, pedestrians and other road users and we conduct continuous competency audits.
‘We expect our staff to drive professionally at all times, and where that does not happen, we will always take swift action.”
Gwent Police said: ‘Officers from Operation Snap are investigating a report of driving without due care and attention by an employees of Newport Bus. Investigations are progressing.’
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