Skip to content

Road reopens following fatal school coach crash

Bea SwallowBBC News, West of England
BBC A sign with white letters on a red background reads "when red light shows wait here" on a rural road near Wheddon Cross in Somerset. There are trees and bushes lining each side of the road, which is single lane in each direction. There are also traffic cones and a set of traffic lights visibleBBC
Temporary traffic lights are now in place at the crash site

A road has partially reopened at the scene of a coach crash in which a 10-year-old child was killed.

Oliver Price died when the coach carrying Minehead Middle School pupils left the road near Wheddon Cross in Somerset, and slid down a 6m (20ft) slope on 17 July.

The children and teachers on board had been returning from an end-of-year trip to Exmoor Zoo. In total, 21 people were taken to hospital to be treated.

One lane on the A396 between Wheddon Cross and Timberscombe remains closed with temporary barriers in place until permanent repairs can be made.

Aerial image of area the crash happened. A yellow line represents where the bus was travelling along.
The crash happened on the eastern edge of Exmoor

In a statement Somerset Council said there would be temporary traffic signals in place, and a 20mph speed limit until further notice.

Avon and Somerset Police has asked people not to leave flowers and tributes by the roadside.

The coach involved in the accident was recovered from the scene on 19 July and is now being forensically examined.

Follow BBC Somerset on Facebook and X. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.

More on this story
Related Internet Links