AN Oxford family is ‘distraught’ after a bus ploughed into their semi-detached house, forcing them to evacuate their home.
Robert Dyer, 55, was home alone at his house in Morrell Avenue when the Oxford Bus Company vehicle crashed into the back of his home on Wednesday afternoon.
Watch: Moment Oxford bus crashes into Headington home
Speaking to the Oxford Mail, he said: “I was sat in the living room when I heard what sounded like a bomb. I saw smoke and the banging sound kept going. All my pets went completely mad and in the corner of my eye I saw cracks in the wall.
“We’re absolutely distraught and gutted.”
Mr Dyer and his two daughters Amy and Natalie and wife Madeline have been forced to temporarily evacuate, as well as the neighbours of the adjoining house, until the Number 15 bus is removed by engineers.
At the scene yesterday, the bright purple bus could be seen protruding from the property and a metal fence was erected around the vehicle.
He added: “The house could collapse. In the kitchen there are two brick cupboards which support the stairs and joist. The supporting wall for the cupboards is weak. The front of the house where the living room is, is fine, and the bedrooms and bathrooms – but the kitchen is completely destroyed.
“Inside it’s an absolute mess. The council has offered us temporary housing but we’ve had support from neighbours who have offered to let us use their bathrooms and kitchens and even offer us spare rooms.
ALSO READ: Investigation launched as Oxford Bus Company vehicle crashes into Headington home
“Our four pets are still at the house so I pop in to feed them.”
Robert said he was disappointed that after the crash his local Oxford City councillor Tom Hayes thanked the fire and rescue service and sent his best wishes to the bus driver but did not mention his family.
Mr Hayes said he will be visiting the family and has passed on his sympathies directly.
The bus company has launched an investigation and has apologised for the inconvenience caused.
A spokesman for Oxford Bus Company said: “We have not been able to examine the vehicle so far as we are working with relevant parties on how to recover the vehicle safely from the site of the incident to our Cowley depot to allow this to happen.
“However, our preliminary investigation and knowledge of the vehicle type involved suggest at this early stage that the primary cause was not related to any mechanical defect, but we cannot confirm this fully until the vehicle has been recovered.”
Neighbour Paul Parsons, 70, who lives opposite Mr Dyer’s house also described the crash.
He said: “I was having lunch when I heard a bang but I didn’t think anything of it. When I eventually got up and saw the bus in the house I thought ‘oh, that must have been that bang I heard’.
“They can’t remove the bus because they’ve got to get a structural engineer to make sure it’s removed safely.
“How much damage is inside, I don’t know. But the most important thing is no one got hurt. It even missed his (Mr Dyer’s) car in the driveway.”
Jay Barrett, from Oxford, said he was on the bus on Morrell Avenue just before the crash happened.
Oxford bus crash: Pictures from the scene
“I was sat at the front of the bus. The driver kept starting and stopping the bus on the hill at the bus stop saying it wouldn’t move so I decided to just get off and walk.
“Then I saw a video of the crash online. I couldn’t believe it.”
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