A brave bus passenger has shared the moment of the horrific double decker bus crash which saw scores injured – as she ran to help a teenager who was thrown from the top deck, covered in blood
Buses keep crashing into the same aqueduct in Eccles(Image: MEN Media)
A 28-year-old woman has told what it was like to be a passenger as the roof was ripped off in a horrific double decker bus crash – before she bravely rushed to the aid of a teenager who had fallen from the top deck.
Three people are in hospital for serious injuries after a Bee Network bus ploughed into a low bridge at Barton Lane on Monday (July 21).
The roof of the vehicle, a number 100 bus which was not following its usual route, sliced off on impact with the Bridgewater Canal aqueduct.
Esther Koch, from Irlam, has now spoken of the terrifying moment she realised horror was unfolding.
Never miss a story with the MEN’s daily Catch Up newsletter – get it in your inbox by signing up here
Esther Koch, 28, Irlam: “I was on the bus, sitting on the ground floor, reading. The bus wasn’t going on its usual route, it turned right when it should have gone straight on
“But the bridge comes immediately after that right turn, and a lot of people hadn’t yet noticed that the bus had taken a wrong turn – I had my head in a book so hadn’t noticed either.
“The first time I realised something was happening was when I heard this almighty crash.
“It was like an explosion, and then it occurred to me that we’d gone under the bridge.
“Nobody was really thrown forward because there was no breaking until after the bridge. I was looking behind me, out of the back window, and I saw bits of the roof coming off.
“Then I saw a young lady fall. You can imagine, it was horrible.”
Esther Koch, 28, was on the bus at the time of the horrifying crash(Image: UGC)
Greater Manchester Police says a 19-year-old woman and two men, one in his 20s and one in his 40s, were seriously injured.
They were taken to hospital, where they remained on Tuesday in a stable condition.
Seventeen other people were treated at the scene for less severe injuries, GMP says.
“I screamed and ran straight down to the bus driver. I was screaming at him to open the door – he was fumbling a bit, he was in shock. I think the realisation was setting in,” continues Esther, a poet.
“When the door finally opened, I ran as fast as I could to the woman on the ground, a few other people were there too.
“She wasn’t moving, and there was a lot of blood coming from her head. It was the most shocking injury I’ve ever seen. All I could think was ‘this is really bad’.
“Me and the other people there talked about putting her in the recovery position, but we were really worried about her breathing, and her neck and back.
“There had been a lot of damage to her face. She was taking breaths, but she was unconscious. Then, at one point, she started to move quite violently – she just didn’t know what was going on.
“It was just total panic, I was screaming for an ambulance. The emergency services arrived very quickly, but in the shock it felt much longer.”
Emergency services in attendance on Barton Lane on Monday(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
Esther was left in a daze and was taken to the hospital she was, ironically, already supposed to be heading to.
“I had blood all over me, we were told by firefighters that we had to wait to be assessed,” Esther continued.
“I was taken to hospital as a precaution, but there were quite a lot of injuries to people on the top deck – to their heads and the tops of their bodies.
“Ironically, I was actually on the bus to go to the hospital to visit my dad who was staying there. As I was in A&E, I nipped out to see him.
“A lot of people came out of their homes and the surrounding buildings bringing out water and blankets. At one point, there was a man very brazenly filming the young woman and her injuries. I was seething, we told him to go away.
“I will never forget her injuries, I think about her all the time hoping she’ll pull through. This will probably change her life, and the lives of a few people who were seriously hurt.”
Images of the aftermath resembled scenes that Barton Lane had already witnessed on three separate occasions over recent years – with many neighbouring residents claiming the real number of vehicles colliding with the bridge is even higher.
The Manchester Evening News has now reported on four double-decker buses smashing into the Bridgewater Canal aqueduct since 2020.
Two collisions came before the Bee Network was rolled out across Salford, with the first involving a Go North West bus on June 12, 2020.
Three passengers suffered minor injuries following the collision, the company said at the time.
Images showed the roof of the bus appeared to be bent backwards following impact with the structure.
The first bus involved in a crash in 2020(Image: ABNM Photography)
In 2023, two buses lost their roofs by ploughing into the same bridge in the space of eight months, with the first involving a Diamond bus on April 10. Luckily, no passengers were involved.
Almost eight months later on December 5, 2023, the roof of another bus was trashed at the same spot, this time involving a Bee Network bus three months into the new service’s roll-out.
Monday’s collision was the most severe to take place, with 20 people injured to some extent.
A bus crashed into the bridge on December 5, 2023(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
Describing the circumstances of the crash on Monday, a GMP spokesperson explained: “It is believed that the bus had come off its normal expected route.
“The driver fails to comply with height restriction warnings, including hanging chains and signage, and collides with a low-level aqueduct.
“As a result, the top level of the bus is torn off and causes a member of the public to be ejected from the top deck of the bus.”
The bus driver, a man in his 50s, was arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by careless driving and has since been bailed pending further investigations.
Vernon Everitt, transport commissioner for Greater Manchester, said: “An immediate and urgent investigation into the circumstances is underway and we are working closely with the investigation team at Greater Manchester Police and the bus operator, Stagecoach.
“This is clearly a distressing situation for everyone involved and we’d like to thank emergency services for their swift response.”
A bus lost its roof on April 10, 2023(Image: Submitted)
In response to the incident, a Salford City Council spokesperson said of yesterday’s crash: “We are unable to provide specific details at this time due to an ongoing police investigation. Salford City Council and TfGM are fully cooperating with the authorities.
“Initial checks have been undertaken and confirmed that regulatory road signage is present in the area.
“Further measures will be considered, in collaboration with our partners at GMP and TfGM, to enhance signage and improve warning systems to help prevent future accidents.”
GMP’s serious collision investigation unit is now appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the incident to come forward.
Officers are also keen to speak to anyone who may have any footage, including dashcam, mobile phone or doorbell footage, from the area in the moments leading up to the collision.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact police on 0161 856 4741, quoting log number 2226 of July 21, 2025.
Alternatively, details can be shared on the LiveChat function on GMP’s website or with the independent charity, Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111.