'Ground shakes' and shattered glass falls on road after bus crash

Sep 24, 2023

Traffic was diverted away from the scene following the crash this morning

The ground "shook" after an Arriva bus and a lorry crashed scattering glass and debris across the road.

Victoria Street in Liverpool city centre was temporarily closed following the crash at around 7.20am today, Thursday, April 27. Images taken by the ECHO at the scene showed extensive damage to the front of the bus - the 56 Arriva service to Netherton - with the front windscreen and door smashed in.

The glass from the bus, made primarily of fibreglass, had scattered across the road and pavement. The HGV, believed to have been delivering flowers to a nearby business, was not at the scene when the ECHO arrived shortly after 8am.

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A witness told the ECHO: "I was around the corner and heard this massive smash. The ground shook. I ran around the corner to see what had happened and the front of the bus was all smashed in."

Two Merseyside Police Matrix vehicles attended the scene to help manage traffic and clear debris from the road and pavement. A spokesperson for the force said: "We were called at 7.20am. It looks like a damage only collision involving a bus and an HGV on Victoria Street/Cumberland Street."

Before the officers arrived staff from Arriva helped divert the traffic up Stanley Street and away from the crash. Buses through the city centre looking to get to nearby Queen Square were also diverted.

The traffic coped well in the city centre, but there were significant delays on The Strand due to buses diverting to avoid the crash. A man who works in the city centre told the ECHO: ""Traffic on The Strand was so much worse than usual - cars were crawling as buses had to divert.

"It took an age to get off The Strand and onto Chapel Street and traffic barely moved once we got there. I had to jump out of the passenger seat and run into work so I wasn't late."

Arriva confirmed it was investigating the circumstances regarding the crash. A spokesperson said: "We can confirm that one of our buses was involved in an RTC on Victoria Street at approximately 7.30am, we are currently investigating the incident and recovering the bus with police assistance with traffic management."

A removal vehicle attended the scene shortly before 8.30am to remove the bus. The road was reopened to vehicles at around 9am.