Three people remain in hospital with serious injuries after the terrifying incident in Greater Manchester
Helena Vesty NHS, social care and patients reporter and Gary Stewart Audience Editor
21:07, 23 Jul 2025Updated 21:08, 23 Jul 2025
The bus crash which happened on Monday(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
A passenger told of her terrifying experience on a double-decker bus when she looked up from her book to witness the roof of the bus tearing off in a horrific crash and then noticed a young woman had fallen from the vehicle.
Three people are currently is hospitalised with severe injuries after a Bee Network bus collided with a low bridge at Barton Lane, Eccles, Greater Manchester, on Monday (July 21).
The impact with the Bridgewater Canal aqueduct sliced off the roof of the vehicle, a number 100 bus which was not following its usual route.
Esther Koch has now shared the chilling moment she realised a disaster was unfolding. Esther, 28, from Irlam, said: “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”, reports the Manchester Evening News.
“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.”
Greater Manchester Police confirmed a 19 year old woman and two men, one in his 20s and one in his 40s, sustained serious injuries.
The injured passenger were rushed to hospital, where they remain in a stable condition. Seventeen other individuals received treatment at the scene for minor injuries, GMP confirmed.
Esther, a poet, said: “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.
“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’.
The double decker bus with its roof ripped off(Image: MEN Media)
“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.”
Esther was left stunned and was taken to the hospital she had, ironically, already been travelling to. “I had blood all over me, we were told by firefighters that we had to wait to be assessed.
“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.”
Esther koch(Image: UGC)
Pictures from the scene bore a striking resemblance to incidents that Barton Lane residents had witnessed on three previous occasions in recent years – with numerous local people insisting the actual tally of vehicles striking the bridge is considerably higher.
The Manchester Evening News previously covered four separate incidents of double-decker buses crashing into the Bridgewater Canal aqueduct since 2020.
Two crashes occurred prior to the Bee Network’s introduction across Salford, beginning with a Go North West service on June 12, 2020.
The operator confirmed at the time that three passengers sustained minor injuries in the incident. Photographs revealed the bus roof had been folded back after striking the structure.
During 2023, two buses had their roofs ripped off after crashing into the identical bridge within eight months, with the initial incident involving a Diamond bus on April 10. Fortunately, no passengers were aboard.
Nearly eight months afterwards on December 5, 2023, another bus roof was destroyed at the exact location, this time a Bee Network vehicle just three months after the new service launched.
The first bus involved in a crash in 2020(Image: ABNM Photography)
Monday’s incident proved the most serious yet, leaving 20 people with various injuries.
Outlining Monday’s crash details, a GMP spokesperson said: “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, aged in his 50s, was detained on suspicion of causing serious injury by careless driving and has been released on bail while enquiries continue.
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 spokesperson for Salford City Council responded to yesterday’s crash, stating: “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.”
A bus lost its roof on April 10, 2023(Image: Submitted)
GMP’s serious collision investigation unit is now appealing for any witnesses of the incident to come forward.
Officers are also eager 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.
