Car slid out of control
Date published: 17 September 2010
Back seat passenger died after bus smash
A YOUNG man died after the car he was travelling in crashed into a bus at an accident blackspot.
An inquest into the death of Benjamin Jessop (24), from Barnsley, heard that the Hyundai lost control in wet conditions on the Besom Hill bend on Ripponden Road, on August 10, last year.
The single-decker 407 bus, owned by Stotts, was heading from Denshaw to Oldham at around 12.50pm when it hit the side of the car that had swerved across in front of it. Back seat passenger Mr Jessop, a trainee sales manager, took the brunt of the impact and died from multiple injuries.
The Hyundai was being driven by Natalie Fletcher who was taking two work colleagues on a business trip to Keighley.
Qaysar Bhatti, from Rotherham, a front seat passenger in the car, told the hearing at Oldham County Court he had no concerns with the manner of her driving.
He heard a “gravelly sound under the tyres” as they went into the bend and the front end of the car seemed to oversteer to the side with the back spinning out. He saw the bus heading for them but blacked out when it hit. He escaped uninjured.
He said: “I did not think the car was being driven too fast.
“It seemed strange that it should happen.”
Witness Kathryn Clegg, from Denshaw, said she was driving behind the Hyundai when it overtook a slow-moving vehicle, which alarmed her because she knew they were approaching the notorious bend.
But she said the Hyundai was on the correct side of the road when it went into the bend and was not speeding. She didn’t see the crash.
Bus passengers, who escaped serious injury, said the bus had been travelling slowly and in a safe manner.
Passenger Murial Henry, from Denshaw, said she saw the car on the wrong side of the road travelling fast towards them and skidding. The bus driver swerved to avoid it but there was an almighty bang as it hit. She held on to her screaming grand-daughter, travelling with her, to protect her. She had struggled to sleep afterwards, and is still suffering from flashbacks.
The only other passenger, David Ryan, said he saw the car skidding towards them and the bus driver braked and swerved but a crash was unavoidable.
In police interviews, bus driver Scott Hampson said the car was partially on the bus’s side of the carriageway and then “fish-tailed.”
He swerved but hit the back of the car as it slid towards the bus. He felt the car was moving quite fast but not excessively.
Mr Jessop’s grandfather Jonathon Malin, from Rotherham, said his grandson was well-liked and extremely close to his family. The tragedy had deeply affected the family who were struggling to come to terms with the loss.
The inquest was adjourned until September 28.
