Woman hit by bus outside London Victoria station
A woman is fighting for her life after being hit by a double-decker bus outside London Victoria station at a junction that has seen multiple fatalities in recent years.
The victim was taken in a blue-light convoy to hospital by police and air ambulance medics after the crash at about 11am.
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “Police were called to Buckingham Palace Road following reports of a road traffic collision involving a bus and pedestrian.
“A woman was treated on the scene, her injuries have been confirmed to be life-threatening. Road closures are currently in place whilst we deal with the incident.”
Passengers including families with young children were stuck on the bus for more than an hour after the crash as they were interviewed by police.
The area of Victoria bus station and Buckingham Palace Road has been the scene of two fatalities in two years.
In January, Catherine Finnegan, 56, died at the scene after being hit by a double-decker bus.
In 2021, Melissa Burr, 32, was killed when she was hit by a bus at Victoria bus station while using a pedestrian walkway.
It prompted Nickie Aiken, Westminster’s Conservative MP, to warn that she was “concerned about passenger safety” at the junction.
Victoria bus station – which is separate to the coach station – often has near-misses because of the thousands of tourists who use the narrow pavements between the rail station, Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park.
A large police cordon has been erected around the bus station and dozens of emergency crews attended the latest scene.
‘People keep crossing without looking’
A woman who was on the bus, and was among the visibly shaken eyewitnesses, said she “saw a grey figure come towards us from the side” whilst the driver was turning into the terminus in central London.
Youcef Fk, 26, who works for a sightseeing bus company in Victoria, told The Telegraph: “Police said a lady had been smashed by the bus. This is about the third time it has happened in the same place, and the fourth time was a couple of weeks ago when a bus stop was smashed.”
Explaining the many near-misses he sees at the junction, he added: “It’s not about drivers, it’s about people. They keep crossing without looking behind them.
“It’s a dangerous junction. We keep telling the police and the council that there have to be black barriers at the corner because the pavement is too close to the road and bus wheels go over it.
“We keep reporting it to the police and council but they don’t listen. We work for sightseeing and care about people visiting this country, but we’re finding that when people get injured the customers get scared and just want to leave the area.”
Westminster city council and Transport for London have been contacted for comment on the safety concerns about the junction.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow
