Retired Halesowen waitress died following fall from bus
An 87-year-old woman died after falling as she got off a bus that had a defective kneeling platform, an inquest heard.
Nancy Willetts suffered a head injury in the fall as she stepped off the single-decker, travelling between Dudley and Merry Hill shopping centre.
The inquest at Dudley Coroner's Court heard the kneeling platform on the bus, lowered to help elderly or disabled people board the vehicle, was not working.
Keith Williams, who was driving the 243 bus, said he had reported the platform issue but was told it was allowed to run.
He told Dudley Coroner's Court: "I remember Miss Willetts getting on the bus. She had a trolley with two handles, three wheels and a basket. I offered to help her get on but she declined."
Mr Williams said she again refused to be helped as she left the bus.
He added: "She put her trolley on the pavement but then she stepped onto the back wheel of the trolley and fell."
Miss Willetts, a retired waitress of Apperley Way, Halesowen, was left unconscious following the accident on July 11 last year. She was taken to Russells Hall Hospital and died that night.
A post mortem found she died of a brain haemorrhage contributed to by the head injury she suffered after her fall.
A letter sent from National Express to Black Country coroner Robin Balmain said the company now made sure buses without working kneeling platforms were not used, regardless of their age.
Mr Balmain said: "It is unfortunate that the kneeling step was not working at the time but there was no statutory requirement for it to be. The distance between the platform and the kerb was not substantial but she was elderly."
He recorded a verdict of accidental death.
