Brighton bus driver remanded over bridge crash that took the roof off
A Brighton bus driver has been charged after a double decker crashed into a bridge, ripping the vehicle’s roof off.
Any bus drivers missing anything??
Kingston lane bridge #shoreham
Credit KC FB pic.twitter.com/ucpcFtOXip
— Sussex News – Breaking News for Sussex (@SussexIncidents) April 20, 2021
Kane Funnell, 52, of Maresfield Road, Brighton, has been charged with dangerous driving and failing to stop after an accident.
The crash happened in Kingston Lane, Southwick, between 3am and 4am on Tuesday 20 April.
Photographs on social media showed the bus roof had been left in the road along with debris from the vehicle.
The bus was a Volvo operated by Brighton and Hove Buses although the company said that it was not in service at the time of the crash.
Funnell was charged with dangerous driving not just in Kingston Lane but also in Conway Street, Hove, where the company has a depot.
He was granted unconditional bail to appear at Brighton Magistrates’ Court for a case management hearing on Thursday 25 November which he was ordered to attend.
It’s not the first time that a bus has become an unplanned open-top after crashing into the bridge.
A mechanic turned a Brighton and Hove Buses double decker into a convertible at the same spot in October 2008.
After the crash in April, Network Rail sent engineers to check whether there was any structural damage to the bridge.
And Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) said: “Reports came in of an empty bus hitting Kingston Lane railway bridge at 3.37am.
“We don’t run passenger trains at that time of night but, as a precaution, Network Rail imposed a speed restriction for around half an hour until an engineer had checked the bridge over.”
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Not trying to be a pendant, but if he’s been granted unconditional bail, he’s not been remanded has he?
It’s a fair question, but you can be remanded in custody (in prison on remand rather than there as a convicted criminal) or you can be remanded on bail, and if you’re on bail, you can be on conditional or unconditional bail. Conditions might include a curfew, or living at a particular address, or staying away from named potential witnesses.
Thank you for that. I understand now.
No pictures of the bus have surfaced then? If people saw it they would be astonished.
There are pictures of the bus. But seen internally around the depot. Driver should have stopped it was that bad.