Transperth driver sacked after boy dragged 300m by bus

Transperth has sacked a driver responsible for dragging a boy 300 metres by a bus, leaving him with a broken pelvis and hand and two skin grafts.

Jeremy Thompson, 12, said a bus driver closed the door on his right foot before accelerating along Pinjarra Road in Mandurah on May 14.

Thompson was boarding the bus with friends around 6pm to visit his mother in Pinjarra.

“I took one foot on the bus, he closed it, he dragged me from the bus stop all the way to the lights,” he said.

“If I leant back more my head would have went into the wheel.

“He just closed the doors, the boys [were] telling him to stop, and they kicked the door and stuff telling him to stop, but he kept going.”

Speaking alongside the family, Megan Krakouer, director of the National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project, called for a fast but thorough investigation.

“Their needs to be accountability,” she said.

“The bus driver; the family want him charged.

“In terms of Transperth, there has to be some accountability … the police need to do their job properly, there needs to be a thorough investigation in a timely manner.”

On Wednesday, the Public Transport Authority confirmed the driver had been stood down and on Thursday said he had been sacked over the incident.

Jaime Phillips witnessed the ordeal, chased after the bus and called triple zero.

“I heard a boy yelling and banging, ‘let me in, let me in’ and when I turned he’s banging on the bus door,” she said.

“He began to hop and then lost his footing and was then dragged by the bus.

“I’m thinking he’s going to come unstuck, and he’s just going to tumble under the bus wheel, I thought I was going to be over there collecting parts.”

Paramedics took Jeremy to Peel Health Campus and then Perth Children’s Hospital where he received skin grafts.

WAtoday understands vision from security cameras inside the bus has been given to police as part of their investigation.

The Public Transport Authority confirmed an incident occurred on its 600 route service near the Mandurah shopping centre on May 14.

“During the incident a 12-year-old boy had his foot stuck in the door and received injuries after being dragged by the bus,” it said.

“The PTA can confirm the driver of the bus has since been stood down by our contractor.

“As the matter is under investigation by police, we cannot comment further at this time. The PTA and its contractor are assisting with the inquiries.”

Brenda Hart, Jeremy’s grandmother, said she is worried about the long-term impact the ordeal will have on him.

“At nighttime he’s waking up screaming, so I need to try to organise some counselling for that,” she said.