Wallsend: Family of woman injured by bus found out on Facebook

Joan Scott's family said she had not been the same since the incident in 2019

The family of a great-grandmother who suffered horrific injuries when trapped under a bus said they found out about the incident on social media.

Joan Scott, who was 83 at the time, had both legs amputated following the crush in Wallsend in September 2021.

Driver Scott Cliff had refused to let her on and drove off, trapping her.

He admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving and was jailed for 27 months. Her family said he had shown "no remorse" for his actions.

Mrs Scott's injuries were so catastrophic she had to have one leg amputated at the scene, and the other removed hours later in hospital.

Mrs Scott, now 86, was trapped under the vehicle's rear wheels for almost an hour

Mrs Scott's granddaughter, Sarah Scott, said she found out about the incident on 19 September 2021 via social media.

"I'd been to my grandma's house with some shopping and she wasn't home," she said.

"I logged into Facebook and it said that a woman was stuck under the bus with a walking stick, and I just knew straight away it was my grandma.

"I went down to the scene and my grandma was still there."

Mrs Scott's family said they felt Cliff had shown "no remorse"

The family said they felt Cliff had shown "no remorse" for the incident, the nature of which they had not been informed about for "over a year".

"We didn't know the ins and outs of what actually happened, it wasn't disclosed to us," Sarah Scott said.

"Was it my grandma's fault? Was it the driver's fault? We really didn't know."

She said the court case had given her "a little bit" of closure, but no sentence would make up for the change to her grandmother.

"When she does go I will have lost her twice, she's not the grandma that I knew," she said.

Joan's son Brian said he felt he had "lost my mam".

"Me mam was up twice a day, into Newcastle, she used to come here every day. Now she's just sitting there," he said.

A Go North East spokesperson said: "Our thoughts are with Joan and her family at this very difficult time.

"This was a tragic incident that we must learn from, the vast majority of our bus drivers are compassionate and empathetic to the vulnerabilities of the customers they serve.

"Despite that, it is very important that we work with all drivers to ensure awareness of the impact their actions can have and this remains a high priority for us.