2019 Totnes bus crash

Following the crash, Devon and Cornwall Police declared a major incident.[2][1] Thirteen ambulances attended the scene by road, and four air ambulance helicopters were dispatched to the incident site to attend to the most severely injured passengers.[2][8] More than 140 emergency services personnel attended the scene at the peak of the major incident, including firefighters who cut into the roof of the overturned bus to rescue passengers trapped inside the top deck.[9] Out of the more than fifty people injured in the crash (including the bus driver), 37 people were taken to five different hospitals throughout Devon.[8] Eight people suffered serious injuries and had to be stretchered out of the top deck through holes cut into the roof; there were no fatalities. The accident occurred on a Saturday, and at several hospitals operated by the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, dozens of staff members were called in to work on their days off as a result of the major incident declaration.[1] Accident and emergency departments at local hospitals were stretched to capacity, and the public were urged not to attend hospitals unless there was a real emergency.[2]

Uninjured passengers were taken to Paignton bus station by road to continue their journeys or receive further support.[1] A spokesperson for bus company Stagecoach South West confirmed that they were assisting the emergency services with their inquiries and that their thoughts were with the victims of the crash.[1] Sarah Wollaston, the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Totnes, tweeted her thanks to the emergency services for their response to the incident.[1]

The A385 road remained closed between Totnes and Paignton until 18:00 on the day of the crash to allow for emergency road repairs and an initial crime scene investigation to take place. The road was then closed again the following day for the vehicle recovery operation,[1] during which the bus was righted using a roadside crane,[8] winched onto the road and towed back to its home depot in Torquay for storage.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) launched an investigation into the bus crash alongside Devon and Cornwall Police. The driver of the bus, a 19-year-old male, was subsequently charged with ten counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. A representative for the transport union RMT alleged that the driver had only passed their Passenger Carrying Vehicle (PCV) driving test three months prior to the crash, and that the journey during which the incident occurred was the first time the driver had driven this Stagecoach Gold service, raising questions of driver training and route familiarity at Stagecoach South West.[9]

The trial was delayed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, during which the bus driver was released on unconditional bail. At a preliminary hearing at Newton Abbot Magistrates Court on 16 September 2020, the driver pleaded not guilty to all ten charges.[5][3] The case was subsequently sent to Plymouth Crown Court.[5] A second preliminary hearing took place at the crown court on 19 October 2020, during which the driver again pleaded not guilty to all charges.[8] A further preliminary hearing is currently scheduled for 13 May 2021, with the final trial set to take place on 1 June 2021.[8][10]

In November 2019, bus company Stagecoach South West denied that the long-term absence of two senior members of staff was related to the ongoing criminal investigation into the bus crash at Totnes.[9] Later however, seven weeks after the crash, the company confirmed the departure of their managing director after 20 years in the role in order to find "new challenges" elsewhere.[11]

In August 2020, following an internal investigation, Devon County Council installed reflective plastic bollards along the outside of the bend at which the bus crash occurred, which at the time had been an unprotected soft grass verge.[6] Local residents and the transport union RMT criticised the safety measures, suggesting that they did not go far enough and that further accidents at the site were inevitable. The council defended the bollard installation, stating that they adequately highlighted a gap in the hedgerow which had not yet regrown following the bus crash as well as the steep drop down into the adjacent field.[6]