Teenager dies in bus horror

Oct 1 2007 By Steve Johnson, Birmingham Mail

A TEENAGER was killed today in an accident with a bus in the Black Country.

The accident shortly after 6.30am caused widespread traffic chaos in the Dudley area.

Police said the youth, a pedestrian, had been in collision with a single-decker bus in Castle Hill, Dudley.

The youth, who has not yet been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

The accident happened outside the Raydens Trophies shop, opposite the Gala Bingo club, as the bus travelled up Castle Hill towards the town centre.

A spokesman for Dudley fire station said that the youth, who may have been a college student, had been trapped under the front of the bus.

"The youth had suffered severe head injuries and there was nothing that could be done to save him," he said.

"We managed to free him from beneath the bus but paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene."

The vehicle involved was a Diamond Bus, part of the Go West Midlands travel group.

Motorists faced huge rush-hour delays while Castle Hill was closed off from the town centre to the Castle Gate traffic island to allow traffic police to examine the scene and.

Police appealed for witnesses to contact the road policing unit on 0845 1135000.