The accident occurred at the intersection of Dolne Młyny and Góralska streets. The bus driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the balcony of one of the detached houses. The front section of the bus was destroyed. To help the injured, firefighters had to cut open the vehicle’s cab. The driver and one of the passengers were taken away by ambulance.
The driver was taken to hospital, mainly with chest and abdominal injuries—probably caused by the bus’s steering wheel. He is approximately 30 years old. “He said that it was very slippery. He was driving very slowly, but he failed to control the bus, and the bus hit the building,” Stanisław Szczepański, a surgeon at the hospital in Bolesławiec, told Boleslawiec.org. The passenger, approximately 50 years old, was admitted to the orthopedic ward. He complained of spinal pain.
“I was sitting and watching television. Suddenly there was a double bang—as if there had been an earthquake. The whole building shook,” recounts Roman Adamarczuk, a resident of the house hit by the bus. “It was something incredible. Fear. You didn’t know what was happening. Was it some tremor, or had a projectile hit? I jumped up from the sofa, stood up, and didn’t know what was going on,” Adamarczuk adds.
The bus was taking mine workers home. The accident was probably caused by an icy road.
Updated 2008-06-11 14:31
According to the findings of the Bolesławiec police, the bus driver failed to adjust his speed to the road conditions.
(GA/KG report)