11:10am Thursday 21st February 2008
A BUS driver involved in a crash which left 22 children injured has been reported by police for careless driving.
Two youngsters were left fighting for their lives when a school bus hit a group of pupils outside English Martyrs School on Catcote Road, Hartlepool, as they were walking home.
Investigations into the accident on July 11 last year are continuing, but Cleveland Police have confirmed the bus driver had been reported for driving without due care and attention and will appear before Hartlepool magistrates in April.
It is believed the bus swerved to avoid hitting a boy who ran out into the road - but then ended up crashing into other pupils walking home.
Pupils were trapped screaming under the wheels as smoke began to pour from the crashed bus.
The driver of a Renault Scenic, which was also involved in the accident, has been reported to court over an allegation of driving without insurance.
The coach, operated by Oxford Road-based firm Richardsons Coaches, was carrying 26 students from the school when it left the road.
It collided with a group of students walking along a footpath before crashing through a fence and smashing into a tree.
More than 20 children were hurt, with two boys airlifted to hospital at the time with serious injuries after they were trapped under the bus.
Ben Conroy and Michael Harrison, then aged 12, were left in intensive care after suffering multiple injuries. They made a full recovery and returned to school after a month in hopsital.
A spokeswoman for Cleveland Police said: "The driver of the bus, and the driver of the Renault Scenic which was involved in the accident have both been reported to court.
"The driver of the bus has been reported for driving without due care and attention, and the driver of the Renault Scenic has been reported for driving without insurance."
Bosses at Richardsons Coaches declined to comment.
Both drivers are expected to appear before Hartlepool Magistrates' Court on a date to be fixed in April.
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