Driver saves children after wheels fall off bus
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A Hunter Valley bus driver is being praised for averting a potential disaster after wheels came off the school bus he was driving yesterday afternoon.
The driver had just picked up about 80 high school students from Raymond Terrace and was travelling to Medowie when the rear left wheels came off.
One wheel was thrown into oncoming traffic and the other rolled into the nearby Grahamstown Dam.
The rear axle began digging into the road and the bus started to lose control.
Police say the skill and quick actions of the driver kept the bus on Richardson Road and averted a possible tragedy.
The general manager of Hunter Valley Buses, Rod Landers, says the driver's experience was invaluable.
"He took control of that vehicle in a very professional manner and pulled it over with safety," Mr Landers said.
"He didn't apply the brake so once he'd realised that the rear wheels had parted company with the bus, he actually used the gears to slow him down.
"It did take some distance but he was able to pull it up without any incident."
The incident has been reported to the Roads and Traffic Authority's heavy vehicle inspectors.
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