We feared Luas was on fire after city bus crash - passenger
TERROR: Commuters tried kicking out windows in panic
COLLISION: The scene of the accident in city centre
Saturday September 19 2009
A PASSENGER on the ill-fated Luas that collided with a Dublin Bus vehicle told of how terrified commuters attempted to kick out windows as they thought the tram was on fire.
Student John Paul Kelly (20) told the Herald that he heard brakes screeching loudly, followed by a loud bang, as the tram collided with the bus on O'Connell Street.
John Paul said it would be some time before he travelled on the Luas again following the incident, which left 26 people injured.
"It was terrifying," he said. "I don't feel safe on the Luas any more after that incident.
"They should consider changing their safety structures."
John Paul, from Phibsboro, described how he felt his life was over. "I got on at Jervis, and we were heading towards Abbey Street when suddenly the brakes began to squeak loudly and then there was a huge bang," he said.
terror
"We started panicking, everyone was breathing heavily. It sounded like a bomb had gone off."
The terror escalated when a passenger yelled out that the front of the tram was on fire.
"We thought the top of the Luas was on fire and we started trying to kick out the windows," he said.
John Paul recalled looking around the tram and seeing elderly people, who were clearly traumatised, and people with minor injuries.
Meanwhile, in Beaumont Hospital, a woman (18), who suffered severe head injuries during the collision, has come through emergency surgery positively.
Dublin Bus has said that its driver is blameless as he had a "green light".
There are several separate investigations under way into the accident, from the gardai, Dublin Bus, Luas operator Veolia and the Department of Transport.
hnews@herald.ie
- Cormac Byrne
