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| Police markings, indicating the accident, remain on the road |
A pedestrian was hit by a bus at just before 1900 this evening in what was, according to those of you who have been in touch with me and who saw either the incident or the immediate aftermath, a very serious accident.
Almost immediately we have had the rumour mill flowing, including reports that it was a female pedestrian and that it had been a fatality. At this stage I can confirm that it is not fatal and that the person involved has been taken to hospital.I understand from a secondary source that it was actually a male pedestrian.
I have spoken to the local Shepherd's Bush Police this evening who will be putting out full details first thing tomorrow. So keep checking back and as usual in these circumstances feel free to update your fellow Bushers via the comments section.
And do stay safe.
1630 SATURDAY UPDATE - I've had three seperate reports from different sources that the man died today in hospital. I stress this is unconfirmed at this point but one of the sources in particular would seem to be in a good position to know. Not good.
1710 UPDATE - The Police have just confirmed to me that the man died this afternoon and that next of kin have been informed. They have asked that the many eye witnesses who have left comments here to contact them by calling 101 and referencing CAD 7450 of the 20th.
I suspect friends and relatives of the man may come across this article, and may have done so already. I'm sure I can speak for everyone when I offer deepest sympathies. Life really can be gone in a moment.
0600 SUNDAY UPDATE - As you've done before several Bushers are updating and sharing thoughts on what happenned in the comments including eye witnesses to the accident itself. One witness in particular claims the bus driver had little chance to stop as the man ran out, and that they'll be going to Police this morning. Please do, and if anyone else has yet to report what they saw, please call them. In the meantime thanks for sharing.
1030 SUNDAY UPDATE - The Police have cnfirmed that the dead man was 60 years old, not in his fifties as reported elsewhere, and that his family was with him in the hospital when he died. Here is the statement in full:
"At 1900 hours on Friday 20th January 2012 there was a road traffic accident outside Shepherds Bush Station. A 60 year old male received serious head injuries. He was rushed to St Marys Hospital for immediate surgery".
"At 1400 hours on Saturday 21st January 2012 the male died as a result of those injuries. His next of kin was with him at the hospital".
"Officers from Metropolitan Police Traffic Command Unit are investigating the circumstances of the accident".
First of all my thoughts and prayers go out to the victim and his/her family. I witnessed the aftermath of the accident and I must say it looked like it must have been a fairly high speed collision based on the massive indent on the windscreen and the distance of the person from the bus.
ReplyDeleteI think rather than it being a rumour mill everyone assumed it was a fatality as there were dozens of police, the area was cordoned off and while there was someone with the victim there did not appear to be an ambulance or paramedics conducting lifesaving treatment or removing the victim from the scene. My friend arrived 20 mins earlier than me and said it was the same then.
I was disgusted by people gawking at the accident and some were even taking pictures- disgusting behaviour.
I also want to add that I cross that road every morning and people do cross mindlessly as it is such a quiet road- buses often come speeding along and I think there should be ramps either side of the crossing area.
If the family or friends of the victim read this blog I just want to let them know that I was only referring here to a couple of people I saw at the scene. The vast majority were incredibly upset and concerned for his welfare as outlined below by other people who were there. I am utterly devastated to hear that he has since passed. My thoughts and prayers to all his family and friends.
DeleteI also witnessed the aftermath and it was beyond horrific! The dent in the windscreen, the amount of police and the sheer chaos! All my thoughts and prayers also go to the victim and their family and friends. I know it was not an immediate fatality at the scene as the police told me they were alive when taken to hospital
ReplyDeleteI got there just after the body had been taken to hospital. I have never seen so many police and the entire area was completely sealed off with a large number of buses remaining in the cordon.
ReplyDeleteI asked the community support officer and he said it was extremely serious, but that they were alive when taken to the hospital. He told me the station area would be closed for a number of hours.
I see near misses pretty much every day and recently watched a women drag her three children in front of a bus so she didn't miss hers on the other side of the road - great example to set. People are always running across from the tube to overland as well.
I think they need to put railings so people can only cross at the designated area. But I don't understand why the bus drivers have to drive so fast through here, they have to brake almost instantly for their stop!
Let's face it, even if ramps were installed, a pedestrian would still sustain serious injury from the bus, due to its sheer size and weight, even at a low speed.
I truly hope that the person pulls through and isn't left with any long term damage. Maybe we need to resurrect the green cross code campaign again, as people seem to have forgotten how to keep safe.
I 'gawked' for a bit, but more in desperation for the person, hoping for some confirmation that he would be ok. The expression 'could get hit by a bus tomorrow' hit me a little, and I think many people looking on felt the same.
ReplyDeleteThose buses always travel too fast past the station, I've often thought it wouldn't be long before something awful happens.
Will make a point of raising this with someone, not sure who! They need speed bumps or something. Too many people to have busses flying past all the time
Yes I think a combination of speed ramps and barriers would at least help the current situation. Currently buses have right of way- maybe a pedestrian crossing would be better? Although then buses would be waiting all day.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to know but something needs to be done. Saw an update from the police on Twitter- male victim still in hospital. Fingers and toes crossed.
I actuallynsawnthe accident, it was not nice to witness, have been searching online to see if the guy is ok, so good to have an update. I read in the Fulham Chronicle that he is still in a serious condition. The reason there were so many police is because there were already two vans full of police there before the accident, it was fortunate in a way that the accident was right in front of them. Completely agree with earlier posts, that crossing is a death trap, people run across to catch buses/trains without looking and busses get annoyed with people walking before the green man so deliberately go fast. Saying that the accident was pretty low speed, I guess the man fell on his head.
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed he is ok
I often have pedestrians running out infront of me when i am cycling along the road crossing a pedastraian area which clearly states red for pedestrains. They under estimate the speed of a bike. We live in a nanny state, people should be responsible for their own actions. Being British i have the highway code embedded in my brain.
ReplyDeleteIm not sure exactly what the situation or who was at fault. I'm a local bus driver to the area too, I find it very shocking that some people have grown to no fear of large vehicles, if you was to install speed humps all that will do is encourage more people to cross carelessly. From the comments I read above, valid points were made that we as pedestrians often take less care for our safety when we are out and about
ReplyDeleteI agree that pedestrians take less care, but some of the busses do go too fast, especially coming in the opposite direction of where the accident happend (from around westfields towards the stations).
ReplyDeleteFor the bus driver to hit a pedestrian (at the pedestrian crossing), and to cause the damage to the windscreen it did, I would argue that due care wasn't being taken (possibly on both sides, yes).
Either way there will always be arguments on all sides, you always see traffic from a different perspective (bus driver/taxi driver/car driver/cyclist/pedestrian).
The main thing is we work together so that we don't need repeats of last night!
Please update this blog when/if you find out more about the pedestrian
I was walking past across the road when it happened - I heard the bus beep the horn, then a second later a thud. When I turned to look, I just saw the man flying onto the road. It was a horrible thing to witness.
ReplyDeleteI can only assume the bus driver thought he had alerted the man in time. My thoughts go out to the poor man and his family. Glad to hear he's still alive - Hope he pulls through.
I too thought he might have died since he wasn't breathing and the police were trying to resucitate him for a while.
I may have been guilty of "gawking" too - but it was only because I was in a state of shock and I wanted to see if the man was alright.
news: the man hit by bus died about 1pm
ReplyDeletethan you for all your comments
My condolences go out to the man's family and thoughts also to the poor bus driver, who must be in a deep state of shock.
ReplyDeleteWhere did this happen?
ReplyDeleteI was standing waiting for the bus to go past outside the central line before crossing the road to the overground. He ran past me and behind a police van and onto the road. He was jogging fairly quickly and he was facing the overground station, he did not look in the direction of the bus before he crossed. There is no way the bus driver could have seen him coming because of the police van blocking his view. It happened in slow motion - as soon as he stepped off the foot path I could see what was going to happen, I yelled an expletive a second before the impact. It occurred 3 metres in front of me and I've felt sick since yesterday. I will be contacting the police tomorrow in support of the driver.
ReplyDeleteI Have been having nausees since...we all the time try to blame on someone's fault to feel better, if im beeing objectiv, lets say that drivers in London arr completly mad and in a rush and they do cant stand pedestrians and they drive even faster when they see them...we all know that! That accident is also a consequence of inconciousness of drivers...shepherd bush is such a busy area, (westfield..). All my sinceres condolences to the family..
ReplyDeleteI don't think drivers in London are mad, they rush because they are rushed by controllers and agressive passengers themselves. Do you know how heavy a double decker is? 12 ton without people on board, around 18 tons when full. Large vehicles need a greater distance to stop even at slow speed. Pedestrians in London are mad, irresponsible and always in a rush. And they don't look around, they just step into the road, even with children and puschairs. They want to save 1 minute but don't realize they might loose their life. What happened last Saturday was a tragic accident but I don't think the driver should be blamed. The man who ran into the street never looked where he was going...
ReplyDeleteVery sad but not surprising. Buses coming in from the main road do tend to travel at speed and pedestrians just seem to cross all over the place rather than the marked crossings. I've seen a few near misses.
ReplyDeleteI saw this accident and at the time it happened I was the ONLY whitness that came forward. It was a truly shocking incident and I was very upset to see the whole thing happen right infront of me. It's so so sad that the gentleman has passed away. I was shocked at how I was the only person that came forward as it was very busy there and many people saw what had happened.
ReplyDeleteTwo stations, multiple bus stops, cab stands and only one pedestrian crossing between it all if we exclude the crossing towards Uxbridge Road.
ReplyDeleteSeems to me all traffic should slow down to about walking speeds allowing pedestrians to cross everywhere. Lower speeds, more time to negotiate traffic and no needless waiting for stop signs at the pedestrian crossing when none of the buses are actually moving.
This isn't a law enforcement problem, it's a road design problem.
I agree with Mark. I can't believe this happened where it happened, I initially thought it was on the main road. There is *NO REASON* a bus should be driving at a speed to kill a man in that area. I'm not blaming the bus driver but the system. I'm looking forward to a London which is less car centric....
ReplyDeleteThe man's death is obviously a tragedy for him and all that know him.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it would be a huge mistake for the area to go back to sticking up railings everywhere. The open spaces and emphasis on personal responsibility between vehicles and pedestrians creates a far more human environment and is probably safer for these reasons.
as i cross down there everyday i see people run out all the time they are very careless and stupid. this morning i saw a man run across from the tube side because he saw his bus at the stop moving away towards the traffic lights . he ran right in front of the bus to try and get it to stop but the bus was already going as the lights were green the worst thing was he was dragging a 5 year old kid with him ! something needs to be done about road crossing down there as drivers have no hope in kissing the many many people who just walk out in front of cars , all over london they do this . don't they know how to cross the road . as a car driver too i encounter this every day . there rate million things to look out for while driving so people shouldn't think they can just walk out to save a few seconds . cars cannot go too fast as the amount of traffic and danger pedestrians prevents it but an accident will always s happen police should do something. make it illegal to run out in front of cars.d
ReplyDeletestopping obviously not kissing
ReplyDeleteWhilst this is a terrible accident and I do feel for his family, the majority of the comments above make it sound like the bus hit him with intent. But reading some of the posts - I'm not sure putting up barriers or slowing buses down with humps would have stopped this.
ReplyDeleteI drive the buses into westfield and i can tell you now your lives!!!! (pedestrians)is not worth the run to catch the bus or the train.It is wrong to assume all bus drivers drive fast into westfield as this would mean a lot of fatalaties everyday!!! This was just an unfortunate accident that occured. Everyone in westfield should value their lives more and take care when crossing busy junctions.It is up to all of us to be aware of our surroundings when crossing busy roads. RIP. peace & love.
ReplyDeleteThis issue drives me mad. I see it everyday. There are two pedestrian crossings there but I see so many people run out without looking. I have a few real scares sitting at the front of the bus when someone walks out right in front of us.
ReplyDeleteIt may be closed to traffic but it is still a road. You wouldn't walk out onto the roundabout with out looking.
If this keeps happening then the only solution will be to have ugly rails like the corner of the green, I don'tthink anyone will want that.
They need to bring in the J-walking law as theY have in the U.S. I personally think Bus Drivers make their best efforts to constantly avoid situations than driving the bus. Some people need to give them credit than constantly slating them! Us Londoners can be damn right ignorant at times and I'm sure we all know this. We're quick to throw the blame On to the easy targets and don't take a minute to look at our own actions. Forget trying to implement traffic Calming measures or road layouts, lets adjust our attitudes
ReplyDeletePrecisely. Let's adjust our attitudes.
DeleteStop ignoring the bull.
Arguably, what is the main purpose of that road between two train stations and several bus stops? To carry pedestrians across. That's where the focus should be: making it easier, faster and safer for pedestrians to get to their train.
I'd like to move about safely not stand back in reverence to the car. Banning j-walking is exactly the kind of measure that moves us even further towards a car centric society. London ain't pretty with the current level of cars, let's not encourage it.
Actually, the main purpose of the road is to carry the buses through to the bus station and back out again. Cars are not allowed down this road at all.
DeleteThe main purpose of the pedestrian crossing is for pedestrians to wait for their green light and then cross. It takes only a couple of minutes to wait.
I have just seen people installing CCTV on the corner of the road at the top outside the tube station. Looks like the cameras will pick up buses entering the road from both directions and leaving, pedestrians crossing the road and then an overall pan of the area. Wonder if they will be a permanent fixture?
ReplyDeleteI work in the area and have to use the crossing outside the station.
ReplyDeleteThere is a huge problem with people crossing without much thought, although a lot of buses drive passed there isn't actually much traffic. It is a very busy area and I think a lot of people are distracted as they cross.
I have seen a lot of near misses, most of the time drivers avert a tragedy like this one by slamming on the brakes. That isn't always the case though, bus drivers who have the right of way sometimes get aggressive and don't brake when they see somebody crossing.
They don't slow down their horn instead, knowing full well that if the person doesn't make an effort to get out if the way quick then they will be hit. Bus drivers will deny it happens but it does, I have seen it happen so many times. Effectively they are driving a 20 tonne weapon and bus drivers that participate in this kind of behaviour are murderers if they kill somebody who they could easily have avoided hitting is a MURDERER.
If in court a driver is questioned about why they drove at a pedestrian who was crossing the road when they could of braked. And they answered they shouldn't of been crossing so I didn't stop. They are admitting MURDER.
Do you buy pictures of incidents?
ReplyDeleteI was very recently run over and I have to say firstly that different accounts were given of what happened, even by myself, as I was not fully aware. I will say though that all the people looking on are not just being 'nosy' as always believed. I can honestly say that I felt the caring coming from those who were very concerned and it seemed to lift me. I will never view onlookers in the same way again! Thank you everyone for your support. As for photos - I wish people would take them - it would help understand what happened as it is all so fast you believe something that is not real. They are also important for witnessing an accident and what really happened. Do not knock this it is like having DNA where none used to exist. Vital as evidence.
ReplyDelete