Coach crash news
11/01/2011

Coach crash passengers saved from injury by seat belts

Nineteen elderly people were injured in a coach crash in Norfolk on Christmas Eve when the vehicle in which they were passengers left the A140 road near Norwich Airport, climbed a steep grass embankment and overturned.

Out of the 49 people on board the holiday sightseeing tour, only one remained in Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital a week after the road traffic accident.

Fortunately, the pensioners were wearing seatbelts, which saved them from more serious injury. Some had to be freed from their seats by firefighters.

The group was on its way to Norwich from Holt when the personal injury accident happened to the passengers aboard Galloway Travel coach, which was based in Stowmarket, Suffolk. No other vehicle was involved.

Inspector David Ball of Norfolk Police told BBC News, "If nobody was wearing seatbelts... they'd have landed on top of each other, it would have been a lot worse. Thankfully we have had no fatalities involved in this."

When police have concluded their investigations into the cause of the coach crash, the passengers who have suffered as a result may be able to claim compensation through a no win no fee solicitor.