Bus driver collapsed at wheel shortly before deadly crash

Bus passengers yesterday described how they saw their driver collapse moments before the bus careened down a hill and caused a three-vehicle pile-up that left three people in a crushed taxi dead, and injured 56.

One man remained in critical condition last night after the crash on Hong Kong Island, in which the out-of-control bus struck two cars before hitting the taxi and another bus.

The taxi was crushed between the two buses. The three occupants were trapped inside for more than an hour before they could be cut from the wreckage.

The accident occurred as the New World First Bus double-decker on the No.8 route descended steep Chai Wan Road towards Shau Kei Wan at 11.40am.

"I heard the driver shout loudly. I thought he was only taking a deep breath so I didn't pay attention," a woman said.

"Then I heard a bang and other passengers said, 'the driver is not doing well'. I looked at the driver and he had already collapsed, with his body tilting to one side.

"I stood up and asked: 'Does any one know how to drive?' But no one knew," she said. "No one could control the bus and it just ran downhill on its own."