Death crash driver suing company
A driver sacked after his bus was involved in a crash which killed a woman and injured six people is waiting on the outcome of a compensation claim for unfair dismissal.
John Connolly was at the wheel of a bus which crashed into another at Walsall bus station in July 2007. Pedestrian Jean Crump, aged 65, was killed as she walked along a pedestrian crossing, while her friend Jennifer Fiddler was among those injured.
Mr Connolly, of Darwin Close, Burntwood, was sacked by Arriva Midlands Ltd following an investigation and charged with causing death by dangerous driving. But he was cleared by a jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court in March this year.
He appeared at Birmingham Employment Tribunal claiming he had been dismissed unfairly, maintaining his plea that the crash was a result of a mechanical fault. Arriva opposed the claim of the driver, who had been employed with the firm for 18 years with an unblemished record.
Miss Lorraine Mensah, representing Arriva, insisted at the hearing that the crash was down to driver error.
Mr Connolly claimed there appeared to have been an acceleration cable default. "The bus suddenly took off."
But Miss Mensah told the hearing experts had carried out an investigation on the vehicle and no mechanical faults were found.
She said: "No action was taken against Arriva. The question of a defective acceleration cable was more of a possibly than a probability. The bus crashed into another after failing to slow down."
Mr Mark Brown, representing Mr Connolly, believed the investigation into the condition of the bus had not gone far enough.
He said: "The acceleration cable was fraying – this is the heart of the matter."
After a two-day hearing, the tribunal yesterday failed to reach a decision after discussing the matter in private for more than two hours.
Tribunal chairwoman Ms Jill Kelly announced that a decision would be made at a later date and the parties informed by post.
