M40 Minibus Crash

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The M40 Minibus Crash occurred on 1993-11-17, just before midnight. It involved a minibus and a motorway maintenance vehicle. The minibus was transporting 14 children home from a concert at the Albert Hall in London, when it veered into the back of the maintenance truck which was parked on the hard shoulder near Warwick.

The driver of the minibus, 35-year-old teacher Eleanor Fry, and 10 of the children died at the scene of the crash. Two other children died in hospital from their injuries, while the remaining two children who survived the crash recovered from relatively minor injuries. The three men in the rescue truck were unharmed, and pulled many of the minibus's occupants clear of the wreckage. All of the children involved were 12 and 13 year old pupils from Hagley RC High School in Hagley, near Birmingham.

An inquest into the crash in June 1994 recorded a verdict of accidental death on each of the victims. But the inquest's most significant findings were that the minibus was not fitted with seatbelts, as current British legislation did not require minibuses or coaches to be fitted with seatbelts at the time. The law has since been changed to make seatbelts standard equipment on all minibuses and coaches, but it is still not compulsory for them to be worn.

The day after the crash, journalists were present outside of the school, documenting the reaction by staff and pupils. The news media were managed by the authorities, with journalists corralled off from the school, in exchange for being provided with human interest information for their stories. Most national newspapers carried a photograph of two grieving schoolgirls, who were clearly identifiable from the picture. Newspaper readers complained in writing that they considered this to be insensitive and an invasion of the girls' privacy.[1]

Whilst the newspapers were being criticized by their readers for sensationalism and invasion of privacy, the BBC was being criticized by journalists for the opposite. The BBC's evening news programme at the time, the BBC Nine O'Clock News carried the story about the minibus crash as its third item, rather than as the lead.[2]

One of the consequences of the crash was the launch of Belt Up School Kids (BUSK), a bus safety training package for both pupils and teachers. It comprised safety training, in-class training for pupils, teachers, parents, voluntary personnel, and governors, and driver training; as well as advice to drivers on how to progress towards Passenger Carrying Vehicle (PCV) driving standards. Several charities were also formed in the wake of the crash.[3][4]

One such charity was the Bramble's Trust, a charity that offers support to bereaved children, which was set up by the two parents, Liz and Steve Fitzgerald, of one of the children (their 13-year-old daughter Claire) who died. By 2002, four years after the charity was founded, it had helped 129 families across Worcestershire and the Black Country. The charity was, that year, awarded £75,000 by BBC Children In Need and £270,000 from the Community Fund. However, in 2005 the charity's bid for funding from the National Lottery was rejected. In 2006, the existence of the charity was threatened by it lacking money.[4][5][6][7]

The school itself contains several memorials to the children who died, including a stained glass window (commissioned from Art of Glass, a stained glass painting company in Solihull, shortly after the crash) and a music suite (constructed by Thomas Vale, in a new school building that was later built). The stained glass window on the school's stairway measures 14 feet by 3 feet, and includes an inscription listing the dead and a musical score and instruments.[4][8]

A public memorial was also erected by the district council in Brinton Park, Kidderminster. Senses Garden was constructed, free of charge, by local builders, landscape architects, and plant experts. A memorial plaque in the garden, a wood carving by local artist Catherine O'Kell, commemorated those who died in the minibus crash. On 2001-05-20 the central carved panel of the memorial plaque was stolen by thieves, who cut through steel bands that had secured the carving to a steel spike fixed to the ground. O'Kell stated that it was irreplaceable because of the age of the wood.[9][10]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Ari Heinonen (2006). "M40 Crash Controversy", in Keeble, Richard: Communication Ethics Today. Troubador Publishing, 147–148. ISBN 1905237685. 
  2. ^ Davis, Stephen. "How bad is the Nine O'Clock News? ; Reporting the M40 minibus crash as only third item on the corporation's flagship news has sparked an angry row among staff", The Independent, 1993-11-28.
  3. ^ "Launch of school minibus package", Redditch Advertiser, Newsquest Media Group, 2002-04-15.
  4. ^ a b c "Terrible tragedy's tenth anniversary", Worcester News, Newsquest Media Group, 2006-07-12.
  5. ^ "Bus crash charity's financial crisis", BBC News, 2006-02-23.
  6. ^ "Lottery snub is threat to charity", This is Worcestershire, Newsquest Media Group, 2005-11-03.
  7. ^ "Help for trust set up in wake of tragedy", Dudley News, Newsquest Media Group, 2002-06-10.
  8. ^ Jonathan Walker. "A first glass finish", The Independent, 1998-07-26.
  9. ^ "Fury at theft of plaque", Droitwich Spa Advertiser, Newsquest Media Group, 2001-05-31.
  10. ^ "Memorial attack causes outrage", The Kidderminster Shuttle, Newsquest Media Group, 2001-05-31.
  • "Verdict on M40 Minibus Deaths; Verdict on deaths of pupils in M40 minibus crash", Daily Record, Scottish Daily Record and Sunday Mail Ltd., 1994-07-01.

[edit] Further reading

  • Eason, Kevin and Tim Jones. "Families of M40 crash victims seek tougher safety laws", The Times, Times Newspapers Ltd., 1994-07-01.
  • Hodges, Lucy. "Safety First: No overtaking over there; The coroner at the M40 minibus crash inquest last week called for a package of safety measures. Lucy Hodges compares these with the strict code adopted in the US", The Independent, 1994-07-07.
  • O'Reilly, Margaret. "Education Focus: Pupils Are a Driving Force in Safety Bid; The Hagley School tragedy which killed 12 pupils and their teacher almost a decade ago has inspired a new bus safety training package which is being launched in schools this month", South Wales Echo, 2002-10-03.
  • Ray, Emma. "Crash Survivor Found Hanged", Coventry Evening Telegraph, 2001-02-02.
  • "Seatbelt law still not enough", BBC News, 2003-11-19.
  • Sarah Fitzgerald (2000-11-24). The Tale of Two Dolphins (When My Sister Died Suddenly). Bramble's Press. ISBN 0953447626.  — a book by the sister of Claire Fitzgerald about her sister's death
  • "In memory of M-way crash dead", Worcester News, Newsquest Media Group, 2003-11-17.

[edit] External links

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