You Don't Have to be Dead to Work Here... Interlude C

[jashyr]

Title: You Don't Have to be Crazy Dead to Work Here (But It Helps).
Part: 7b/22
Author: Jashyr
Genre: Horror/Black Comedy
Word Count: 50,000
Disclaimer: These characters are mine. They live in my head and make me do crazy things like entering NaNoWriMo...
Rating: PG-13? Probably.
Warnings: Some gore. Written for NaNoWriMo last year and while it has been re-edited the punctuation police are still looking at it suspiciously.

 

Twelve Fatalities in Bus Crash Near Alton Towers

By Sandra Dell

Yorkshire Tribune Traffic News Editor

On Monday eve a single-decker bus travelling from Alton Towers towards Alton village along Station Road collided with two stationary vehicles when the driver appeared to collapse at the wheel. The bus then went through a brick wall and dropped 25 feet down an embankment, landing on its roof which collapsed into the passenger area. As a result of the crash, eight of the passengers and the driver were pronounced dead at the scene. A further three passengers were taken to hospitals in Stoke on Trent and Selly Oak by helicopter but all were pronounced dead on arrival.

The coach was believed to have been hired by a Yorkshire firm, Holt Facilities Management, to convey their staff to Alton Towers in celebration of the firm’s twenty fifth birthday.

During the operation the residents of two nearby properties were evacuated due to the incident and the risk posed to them by fuel from the coach.

A spokesman for Staffordshire Alton District Council who attended the crash said 'our thoughts are with the relatives of those involved in this terrible accident. We would also like to praise the efforts of the Police, the emergency services and all those taking part in the rescue'.

A detailed examination of the coach is ongoing and will continue into next week. Along with examiners from the force's Collision Investigation Unit and VOSA, a metallurgist and a forensic specialist have been commissioned to examine the condition of the coach's structural integrity.

Chief Inspector John Maddox said: "Detectives from our Major Investigation Department received full co-operation from the residents of the properties adjacent to the accident. We are now building a detailed picture of events leading up to the crash but are still appealing for witnesses, or people who helped at the crash scene, who have not yet come forward to contact us.

It is believed that carbon monoxide was leaking into the air-conditioning system of the coach and the driver became unconscious at the wheel. Forensic examination and testing of the coach's mechanics, including its exhaust and braking system, will be carried out as will more work to try to establish the cause of the structural collapse of the coach. This is complex, detailed work which is anticipated to take some time."

Witnesses can ring the incident room on 01700 123456 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.