Bus driver in Dudley death crash denies he was speeding
Feb 7 2009 by Chris Henwood, Birmingham Mail
A BUS driver alleged to have been driving at speed and using his mobile phone when he lost control of his single decker, killing a pedestrian, maintained to a jury the brakes failed on the vehicle.
Vusumuzi Khuphe, of St George’s Road, Dudley, said that when he applied the brakes to his No. 205 bus out of Dudley Station, it did not come to a halt.
“I could not believe what was happening,” he told Wolverhampton Crown Court.
“The bus, instead of stopping, began to slide. I tried to bring it under control, but everything happened too fast and the bus went out of control.”
Zimbabwean-born Khuphe, aged 41, said the impact of hitting a parked car on the left caused the bus to veer to the right where it hit Steven Malpass before ploughing into two terraced houses.
Mr Malpass, a labourer, was walking in Bunns Lane, Kates Hill. He died from injuries he suffered in the accident on May 15 last year.
Khuphe, who preaches with the Forward in Faith Ministeries in Dudley, said he had been left badly shocked by the death of Mr Malpass.
He stressed to the jury that he had not been driving at speed before the accident and said he had not been using his mobile.
Khuphe admitted he had received a text message on his phone, but that would not have necessitated the need for him to hold it to his ear as claimed by a witness.
The prosecution alleged that Khuphe, who came to the United Kingdom in 1999 when he fled the regime of Robert Mugabe, had been speeding before losing control of his bus.
It has also been claimed that he drove too fast and carelessly, causing concern to his tutors while training to be a driver with West Midlands Travel.
Khuphe, who has denied causing the death of Mr Malpass by driving dangerously, told the court he was just minutes into his route when he tried to brake to allow an oncoming car to pass.
“As I was going down Bunns Lane only one vehicle could pass,” said Khuphe.
“I applied the brakes, but I was amazed because nothing happened.”
Stanley Thomas, an expert engineer and transport consultant, told the court he had checked the bus and found the nearside rear brake was not working.
“The automatic adjuster in the breaking mechanism had failed,” said Mr Thomas, who works for a company operating more than 1,500 vehicles.
“The system had not been properly examined.”
Thomas Bako, a member of Khuphe’s church, described him as a “humble, honest and hard working man,” adding: “I have never had any reason to doubt his integrity and his driving has never given me cause for concern.”
(Proceeding)
