Bus driver in fatal A47 crash was drowsy, inquest told

The bus suffered significant damage in the crash, the inquest heard

A double-decker bus driver who was killed along with a passenger in a crash was inattentive due to drowsiness, an inquest heard.

Michael Elcombe, 45, of Swaffham, Norfolk, died when the bus he was driving collided with a lorry on the A47 in Cambridgeshire in 2018.

Passenger Brian Chapman, 76, from Kettering in Northants also died.

Coroner Simon Milburn concluded both men died as the result of a road traffic collision.

The inquest at Peterborough Town Hall heard the First Eastern Counties bus hit a Bretts Transport lorry that was turning right out of the entrance to its depot at Guyhirn, near Wisbech, at about 07:30 BST on 26 June.

The lorry driver said the bus had enough time to react to his presence, but did not until "one second" before the collision, which did not allow the bus enough time to stop.

Dashcam footage showed Mr Elcombe clearly did not notice presence of lorry even though it was an obvious obstruction, the inquest heard.

The coroner said he was inattentive due to drowsiness or fatigue, but it was unclear as to why this was the case.

The inquest heard Mr Elcombe had, on another occasion, been in a collision after he fell asleep.

His partner also said she had been on a bus he was driving when she saw he was "nodding off" and she had offered him a drink or talked to him to try to keep him awake.

A passenger had also previously made complaint about Mr Elcombe when a bus he was driving veered towards a kerb and they shouted at him to "wake up".

But the coroner stated there was no evidence of his poor driving.

The coroner raised concerns about the significant injuries caused to other passengers on the A47 bus and highlighted that seatbelts were not mandatory for the journey the bus took.

He said he would raise the issues with the Department of Transport, although he believed Mr Chapman would not have been saved by a seatbelt.

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