A passenger was today forced to control a double decker bus as it swerved across a road and ploughed into the garden wall of a house, an eyewitness said.
The man in his 20s desperately tried to grab the vehicle’s steering wheel when the female driver appeared to slump forward.
The driver of the 121 route bus and the two passengers onboard at the time were taken to hospital to be treated for shock.
Dublin Bus and the gardaà have launched separate investigations into the collision which occurred at the junction of Clonard Road and Kildare Road at around 9.15am.
Describing the incident, a female eyewitness said: “There was a young lad trying to take control of the bus. He was trying his best but he couldn’t. I don’t think the driver knew where she was. “By that time it had hit the front wall and partly into the front garden. “There was an old lady on the bus and she was screaming because the bus was swerving all over the place.â€Dublin Bus declined to comment on the nature of the injuries suffered by the driver or the cause of the incident ahead of a comprehensive accident report.“A team of accident investigators from Dublin Bus examined the scene and the crashed vehicle before it was towed away,“ a spokeswoman said.
“Our investigators will also examine all witness statements and CCTV footage in the area to help us compile our report.â€
About 4% of Dublin Bus drivers are currently female.
The eyewitness also described that panic descended upon the scene after the bus hit the wall.
“It was just panic. Everybody started running. Everybody tried to help. The driver was actually in the cab but nobody could get her out.
“A man got a screwdriver and was able to open the driver’s cab and get out the driver.â€
Two fire engines and two ambulances attended the scene as well as the gardaÃ.
Why did they have to mention the stats on what % of the bus drivers are female ?
Seriously why ?
It was an accident and I am sure that it will be investigated but really why was the gender of the driver important enough to mention the % ?
Was it to make people feel safer by saying that there is only 4% of drivers are women there for linking the inncedent to her gender ?
When a bus driver killed people with a bus on Wellington quay it was just a bus driver and the fact he was male was not highlighted or that there are if my maths are correct 96% of all bus drivers are male.