Grandfather, 93, died after falling on bus

A 93-year-old grandfather died after falling over on a bus in the Black Country, an inquest heard.

Albert Boddy was on a Black Diamond 445 bus to get a haircut in Halesowen, when the driver braked suddenly to avoid someone who had stepped into the road. Mr Boddy fell and hit his head, and he died at Sandwell Hospital the following day.

Passenger Jean Dodd told the inquest in Smethwick yesterday that she saw Mr Boddy get on the bus in Hagley Road, Oldbury, on April 14.

"It looked like he was going to sit down but then the bus braked. The old man slid towards the front of the bus and banged his head."

She said Mr Boddy, of Astbury Court in Hereford Road, Oldbury, had a cut on his forehead but seemed okay. Mr Boddy was taken to a doctor's surgery by the bus driver and was later transferred to Sandwell Hospital. He was found to be suffering from ischemic bowel, where the blood supply is cut off to the intestine. The grandfather-of-one died on April 15.

A statement from the bus driver, who was not named, was read out. In it he said he remembered seeing Mr Boddy reaching for a free newspaper after getting on the bus, and then he passed out of sight.

The driver said he was doing no more than 10 miles an hour when "without warning", someone ran into the road.

Mr Boddy's only daughter, Sandra Bache, of Cumberland Crescent, Burntwood, told the inquest her father was an active man who regularly used the bus.

Her husband, Paul, said they did not blame the bus driver. He said: "We spoke to Albert in the hospital and he said the driver had been very good.

"I actually rang the bus company so I could thank the driver for how he looked after Albert after the fall."

Black Country coroner Robin Balmain recorded that the death was due to a combination of the accident as well as ischemic bowel.

After the hearing, Mrs Bache paid tribute to her father. She said: "He was a remarkable man, a wonderful father. We miss him deeply."