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Buses keep crashing into the same aqueduct in Eccles(Image: MEN Media)<\/p>\nA brave bus passenger has shared the moment of the horrific double decker bus crash which saw scores injured – as she ran to help a teenager who was thrown from the top deck, covered in bloodBuses keep crashing into the same aqueduct in Eccles(Image: MEN Media)<\/p>\n
A 28-year-old woman has told what it was like to be a passenger as the roof was ripped off in a horrific double decker bus crash \u2013 before she bravely rushed to the aid of a teenager who had fallen from the top deck.<\/p>\n
Three people are in hospital for serious injuries after a Bee Network bus ploughed into a low bridge at Barton<\/a> Lane on Monday (July 21).<\/p>\n The roof of the vehicle, a number 100 bus which was not following its usual route, sliced off on impact with the Bridgewater Canal aqueduct.<\/p>\n Esther Koch, from Irlam, has now spoken of the terrifying moment she realised horror was unfolding.<\/p>\n Never miss a story with the MEN’s daily Catch Up newsletter – get it in your inbox by signing up here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Esther Koch, 28, Irlam: \u201cI was on the bus, sitting on the ground floor, reading. The bus wasn\u2019t going on its usual route, it turned right when it should have gone straight on<\/p>\n \u201cBut the bridge comes immediately after that right turn, and a lot of people hadn\u2019t yet noticed that the bus had taken a wrong turn \u2013 I had my head in a book so hadn\u2019t noticed either.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first time I realised something was happening was when I heard this almighty crash.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was like an explosion, and then it occurred to me that we\u2019d gone under the bridge.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody was really thrown forward because there was no breaking until after the bridge. I was looking behind me, out of the back window, and I saw bits of the roof coming off.<\/p>\n \u201cThen I saw a young lady fall. You can imagine, it was horrible.\u201d<\/p>\n Greater Manchester Police<\/a> says a 19-year-old woman and two men, one in his 20s and one in his 40s, were seriously injured.<\/p>\n They were taken to hospital, where they remained on Tuesday in a stable condition.<\/p>\n Seventeen other people were treated at the scene for less severe injuries, GMP says.<\/p>\n \u201cI screamed and ran straight down to the bus driver. I was screaming at him to open the door \u2013 he was fumbling a bit, he was in shock. I think the realisation was setting in,\u201d continues Esther, a poet.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the door finally opened, I ran as fast as I could to the woman on the ground, a few other people were there too.<\/p>\n \u201cShe wasn\u2019t moving, and there was a lot of blood coming from her head. It was the most shocking injury I\u2019ve ever seen. All I could think was \u2018this is really bad\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cMe and the other people there talked about putting her in the recovery position, but we were really worried about her breathing, and her neck and back.<\/p>\n \u201cThere had been a lot of damage to her face. She was taking breaths, but she was unconscious. Then, at one point, she started to move quite violently \u2013 she just didn\u2019t know what was going on.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just total panic, I was screaming for an ambulance. The emergency services arrived very quickly, but in the shock it felt much longer.\u201d<\/p>\n Esther was left in a daze and was taken to the hospital she was, ironically, already supposed to be heading to.<\/p>\n \u201cI had blood all over me, we were told by firefighters that we had to wait to be assessed,\u201d Esther continued.<\/p>\n \u201cI was taken to hospital as a precaution, but there were quite a lot of injuries to people on the top deck \u2013 to their heads and the tops of their bodies.<\/p>\n \u201cIronically, I was actually on the bus to go to the hospital to visit my dad who was staying there. As I was in A&E, I nipped out to see him.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people came out of their homes and the surrounding buildings bringing out water and blankets. At one point, there was a man very brazenly filming the young woman and her injuries. I was seething, we told him to go away.<\/p>\n \u201cI will never forget her injuries, I think about her all the time hoping she\u2019ll pull through. This will probably change her life, and the lives of a few people who were seriously hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n Images of the aftermath resembled scenes that Barton<\/a> Lane had already witnessed on three separate occasions over recent years<\/a> – with many neighbouring residents claiming the real number of vehicles colliding with the bridge is even higher.<\/p>\n The Manchester Evening News has now reported on four double-decker buses smashing into the Bridgewater Canal aqueduct since 2020.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1_HVR_MEN_230725_estherkoch.jpg\")
Esther Koch, 28, was on the bus at the time of the horrifying crash(Image: UGC)<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1_JRP_MEN_210725_bus_004JPG.jpg\")
Emergency services in attendance on Barton Lane on Monday(Image: Jason Roberts \/Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2_Untitled.jpg\")
The first bus involved in a crash in 2020(Image: ABNM Photography)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1_051223bus4jpgembe.jpg\")
A bus crashed into the bridge on December 5, 2023(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1_JH_MEN_100423BUSCRASH_02jpeg.jpg\")
A bus lost its roof on April 10, 2023(Image: Submitted)<\/p>\n