Heroic Jockey’s Trauma: “Couldn’t Sleep” After School Bus Tragedy
Minehead, Somerset – A former professional jockey, Alan Jones, 64, is grappling with the emotional aftermath of a devastating school bus crash in Somerset, admitting he “couldn’t sleep” due to the trauma of what he witnessed. Jones bravely used his quad bike to ferry trapped adults and children to safety following the horrific incident on Thursday.
The crash, which occurred on the A396 at Cutcombe Hill near Minehead, saw the school bus carrying 60 to 70 pupils and staff from Minehead Middle School leave the road and slide down a 20ft slope.Tragically, a 10-year-old boy lost his life, and six children and three adults remain in hospital. The bus was returning from a trip to Exmoor Zoo just days before the end of term.
Jones, who now works as a trainer and lives at East Harwood Farm, described the scene as “the moast remote place.” He was among the first on the scene,arriving within 10 minutes.”The children coming out of that accident wouldn’t have known where they were,” he told reporters. “I think it would have been wrong not to try and help.”
Navigating closed roads via fields with a rope, Jones reached the overturned bus. “When I got there, the road was closed and the police were everywhere. Everybody was just looking at the bus,” he recalled.”I didn’t know there were any fatalities at the time, but I knew there were children still in the bus, and all of the police officers were just basically around the bus and there wasn’t anybody else about, really; I was the only local person there.”
He first assisted two teachers on the roadside, transporting them to the Rest and Be Thankful Inn, which had been established as a safe hub. He then encountered a group of children and another adult, also heading towards the pub.”They were just sort of stranded there. They didn’t know what was going on, really,” Jones said, describing their distress. “You could see they were injured and crying and upset.”
He explained the challenging conditions for the young passengers. “They’d just been upside down in a bus, over a cliff, all the windows had broken in the bus, and they’d scrambled out and been helped out by emergency services.” He noted that some children were instructed to make their way to the pub but were too fatigued to continue.
After returning the two women to the pub, where ambulances were waiting, Jones went back to rescue another teacher and child. “They were in shock. They didn’t really say a lot,” he recounted. “One teacher said: ‘I’m never going back on a bus or coach ever again.'”
The harrowing experience has left a deep impact on jones. “They’re just so innocent and it wasn’t their fault. It was a sorry sight,” he said, his voice heavy with emotion. “When you here it’s children from a middle school, I shoudl think everybody dropped everything like I did, because it’s just something about children – they’re pretty helpless, really.”
The crash occurred between Wheddon Cross and Timberscombe at approximately 3:15 pm on Thursday.Investigations into the cause of the accident are ongoing.
If you or someone you know has been affected by this incident, support is available. Please contact [Insert relevant support service contact data here].
