Rita Odafe
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On Monday, March 20, 2023, the Old Bailey heard of a fatal crash that occurred outside Victoria Station in London when a 60-year-old bus driver, Olisofa Popoola, pressed the accelerator instead of the brake. The crash killed 32-year-old Melissa Burr. Popoola was driving an electric 507 single decker bus when he caused the fatal accident.
Jurors were told that Popoola kept driving forward even after his bus hit the other vehicle. Ms Burr was crossing the road in front of the bus when she was knocked down and crushed under the vehicle. The driver of the other 507 bus, Diana Mathuranayagam, was thrown from her vehicle and suffered a badly fractured eye socket.
Prosecutor Alexander Williams said Popoola has admitted responsibility for the crash but argues it was careless rather than dangerous driving. The crash happened at around 8.25am on 10 August 2021, when Burr, from Rainham, Kent, was crossing the road with two colleagues. Victoria station was busier than usual that Tuesday, as the Circle and District line was closed and commuters had taken to the buses.
Popoola finished a phone call to his niece and decided to move his bus forward, but is accused of moving at twice the speed – around 10mph – compared with Ms Mathuranayagam’s manoeuvre. CCTV captured the ensuing crash from multiple angles, showing Popoola’s feet in the driver’s cab as he pressed the accelerator and Ms Burr as she went to cross the road before being struck. The court heard Popoola was the third 507 bus to arrive at the parking bay.
When the parked bus lurched forward, it hit Ms Burr who was propelled up and forward. Driver Ms Mathuranayagam was thrown out of the door of the parked bus and onto the pavement. The driverless parked bus did not stop but continued to go forward, running over Ms. Burr who ended up under the bus and died as a consequence of her multiple injuries. Popoola is accused of not pressing the brake pedal at all until his bus had stopped thanks to him applying the parking brake.
At the scene of the crash, he told police: “My foot slipped off the brake and onto the accelerator and I have collided with the bus in front.” In a prepared statement a few weeks later, Popoola insisted he pressed the accelerator “gently”. He offered his condolences to Ms Burr’s family and said he did not know what happened.
Mr. Williams told the jury: “Even if the defendant unintentionally pressed the accelerator when he mean to press the brake pedal, the mistake may explain why it is he drove in the way he did but it doesn’t mean his driving didn’t fall far below the standard one would expect of a careful and competent driver.” Popoola has pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving but denies causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving. The trial continues.
