Andrew Gordon Scott, who has 34 years of experience as a bus driver, went into ‘auto pilot’ – believing he was driving a single decker – and ploughed into the side of the building, forcing passengers on the upper deck to shield themselves from the spray of shattered glass.
As a result of the 51-year-old’s actions, part of the vehicle’s roof was peeled back to the front row of seats, windows were smashed and the bus was left partially embedded in an overhanging section of the station.
Scott, who was subject to an investigation by Liberty Bus immediately after the incident, before returning to driving duties a few days later, was sentenced to 90 hours’ community service and disqualified from driving for a year following a trial at the Magistrate’s Court.
Outlining the prosecution’s case on Thursday, police legal adviser Lawrence O’Donnell said that on the evening of 30 June, Scott lost concentration when he chose to drive the number 14 bus from St Brelade onto the Esplanade – a route only taken by double-deckers before 10 am – instead of going through the underpass and into the station.
The defendant told officers that moments before the crash he was not aware he was driving a double decker and that ‘reality kicked in’ when he hit the building.
Advocate Christina Hall, defending, said that her client’s mistake of taking the wrong route was ‘irrelevant’ and that his lapse of concentration which led to the accident was ‘momentary’.
After deliberating for three hours, Magistrate Bridget Shaw reached a guilty verdict, explaining she could not accept that the lapse had been momentary.
Delivering the sentence, Mrs Shaw said that Scott had caused a ‘significant risk’ to the public and that he was lucky that injuries suffered by the passengers were not more serious.
