Girl's life 'has been changed forever' after Stagecoach bus driver's 'split-second decision'
manchestereveningnews.co.ukA bus driver who ran over a teenage cyclist after jumping a red light said he didn't brake out of concern for his passengers.
Darren Conroy, 59, failed to stop at a set of lights and ploughed into 17-year old college student Charlie Whitehead as she was cycling across the junction during the evening rush hour, a court heard.
Conroy's double decker went over both of Charlie's legs and she sustained a fractured ankle, foot and shattered heel. She also suffered a fractured elbow and scarring from friction burns.But when the father of one, of Dukinfield, Tameside, was quizzed he said he had to make a 'split-second decision' when the lights turned from amber to red and insisted he had to consider his passengers before braking suddenly.
Prosecutors said he had 'ample' time to stop. READ MORE: Tragedy of man, 21, killed on M62 junction as coroner makes urgent calls for change In a statement Charlie, now 18, said: "I will have to think twice about getting on a bike, which I love, due to the fear of being hit or falling off my bike.
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