Woman dies, nine injured after bus mounts kerb in Brisbane CBD peak hour horror
Tributes are building at the scene of a freak bus crash that killed an 18-year-old woman as the Brisbane City Council reveals what tests the vehicle involved had recently undergone.
Brisbane City
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A young woman has died after being pinned against a wall by an out-of-control bus that mounted a packed footpath near one of Brisbane CBD’s busiest intersections during peak hour.
The Courier-Mail can reveal the 18-year-old Hemmant woman had just walked out of a nearby beauty salon after having her eyelashes done when the bus, which had just turned off Ann St on to Edward St, lost control and hit her.
The Brisbane City Council on Saturday revealed the brakes of the bus had been tested last month as part of routine 10,000km testing.
Council’s Transport for Brisbane divisional manager Samantha Abeydeera said the vehicle would now go through an engineering investigation to ensure there were no mechanical failures.
“And that’s part of the investigation. So there is police investigation that will be done. And then there is also an internal investigation,” she said.
“We absolutely take the duty to the city safely and seriously.
“The bus driver has been operating with us for decades.”
State Development Minister Grace Grace, whose McConnel electorate takes in the CBD, said police needed time to complete their investigation into the tragedy and it was unfair to speculate on the cause.
“It’s not one of those normal kind of accidents - we’re not sure exactly what happened,” she said.
“Often in circumstances like this, it doesn’t help the family or friends (of victims) to have any information that is not accurate.
“I’m advised that the Forensic Crash Unit is undertaking a very thorough investigation into all the circumstances of this devastating incident and we await the outcome.”
Ms Grace said it was a “tragic, shocking incident … one of those accidents that you wish would never, ever, ever happen”.
She said she extended her sincere sympathies to the dead woman’s families and friends.
“I don’t know how a family reacts to a tragedy like that. I’ve got a child as well and to hear that news would be absolutely devastating,” she said.
The minister said she also wished bus driver and passengers a speedy recovery from their injuries and said “every support” was being offered to those involved.
“Many people who even witnessed that would be traumatised by those events,” she said.
On Saturday morning, people had started leaving flowers at the scene of the tragedy. A message on one read “Fly high beautiful. May you rest in peace”.
Minh Phan, the owner of Milash, the beauty salon the 18-year-old was at before the fatal incident, left flowers and spoke to media this morning.
“I’m very sad to hear what has happened,” she said. “And I feel very sorry for her family.”
Madeline Vaneeghan, who works at the nearby Fitting Room, left flowers and said the incident “hit so close to home”.
“I’ve been working here at the Fitting Room for seven years and I just thought ‘it could’ve happened to any of us’,” she said.
“And my colleagues - I really feel for them for having to see what they did.”
The woman had been facing the wall of the Anzac Square Arcade building when she was hit from behind and killed.
It’s understood two larger groups of pedestrians had been walking on the footpath just metres either side of the young woman when the bus mounted kerb.
CCTV captured panicked pedestrians in the aftermath of the crash running from the scene, as witnesses described hearing the bus hit a light pole and mount the kerb before seeing “bricks flying” as it smashed into a building just after 5pm on Friday near the intersection of Edward and Adelaide streets, not far from Central train station.
Eight passengers, mostly women in their 20s or 30s were aboard the bus with some telling emergency services they were thrown from their seats into the aisle when the bus collided with the wall.
Some passengers were treated for shock or minor cuts and bruises on scene, while others were taken to hospital with soft tissue injuries.
The driver, who was still seated on the bus “suffering the affects of shock” was also taken to hospital.
Late on Friday night the bus was pulled from the wall of the Edward St building and towed away from the scene, with emergency services left shaken by the scene.
First responders described the scene as “confronting”, with Queensland Ambulance Service operations supervisor Andrew Blumson confirming a woman aged 18 had been killed.
Queensland Ambulance Service operations supervisor Andrew Blumson confirmed the 18-year-old had died at the scene, saying it was a confronting situation.
“Our officers are very well-trained, but these sorts of accidents don’t happen every day,” he said.
“We have very robust support services within the QAS and every single officer involved in these sorts of incidents will be followed up with.”
District Duty Officer Senior-Sergeant Steve Watterson described the crash site as a “horrendous scene”.
“The bus has made a left turn from Ann into Edward and for reasons under investigation at this point in time to ascertain why it deviated left onto the footpath.
“All other passengers on the bus were assessed by QAS with three transported to hospital with very minor injuries.
“We were lucky at the time there was only nine passengers on the bus with three sustaining minor cuts and bruising as a result of the impact and exiting the bus through some emergency windows.
“We’ve reviewed some CCTV footage of the footpath of the incident … it’s a very busy time of the afternoon and our thoughts go out to the family of the person.”
Witness Sarah Wykes was on Adelaide St on her way to the gym when she heard the crash.
“I heard what I thought was a car crash and I looked up,” she said.
“It felt like the bus just kept going and going
“There were bricks flying from the building.
“Everyone just stopped and was in shock.
“Watching a bus going into a building, it took a second to realise what had happened.”
Ms Wykes said traffic was bumper to bumper in the area before the crash and the footpaths were very crowded.
“It’s very sad to hear someone has died,” she said.
“The fact it happened straight after 5 o’clock, I’m surprised the number of people injured wasn’t a lot higher.”
Eden Beveridge said she was in her apartment upstairs when she heard the sound of the collision.
“I was doing some paperwork, listening to music through noise cancelling headphones,” Ms Beveridge said.
“I thought I was hearing things I was so confused.
“That’s how loud it was, I heard it through noise-cancelling headphones.
“I came out and I was oh my god, I was in shock.”
Premier Steven Miles took to social media to share his condolences on Friday evening.
“I’m saddened to hear the news that a woman has died after a bus crash in Brisbane CBD this evening,” he said.
“Our thoughts go out to all those involved.”
Another witness, Seuny, who spoke to The Courier-Mail at the scene, said she lives just across the street from the incident but was walking to meet her friends along Edward Street when she saw the bus veer off into a building.
“The bus was going straight and then turned quickly. It all happened so suddenly,” she said.
“The poor girl she is only young.
“I don’t know what to do I’m just so horrified.”
Another witness said he was driving from Spring Hill when he saw multiple police and ambulances.
“I didn’t hear the bang, I was still in my car, but I knew something bad had happened,” he said.
The forensic crash unit has begun its investigations, with the bus to be taken from the scene for mechanical inspection.
Another witness Pryscila Munyki said she was on her way home from work when she saw the incident.
“When I arrived in front of the Down Under bar, a police officer asked me to go to the other side,” Ms Munyki said.
“So I crossed the street and saw the bus crossed the street and into the wall of the Anzac Square building, there were two people under the bus who seemed to be firemen.
“I passed in front of the girls who were being helped and they were injured and crying, at the time I sent an audio on WhatsApp to my boyfriend with the siren noises in the background.
“I was speechless but I tried to summarise for him what I was seeing.
“It was a tragic scene. It was just so sad seeing those girls lying on the floor bleeding. That broke my heart.”
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner described the incident as “truly devastating”.
“My heart goes out to everyone impacted by this tragedy,” he said.
“Hearing this news has absolutely shocked me and I’m sure the entire Brisbane community will be feeling this tonight.
“None of us going about our daily lives ever expect anything like this.”
Cr Schrinner said the exact circumstances remained uncertain and Brisbane City Council would work with police.
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