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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Alexander Butler,Jane Dalton,Matt Mathers and Tara Cobham

M53 bus crash – latest: Coach driver killed was father of 2 as family say he suffered ‘medical issue’ at wheel

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Schoolgirl and driver killed after school bus flips on motorway, police say

The bus driver who died in a horror car crash in Merseyside has been named as a father of two whose family claim "suffered medical issues behind the wheel” before the crash.

Stephen Shrimpton, described by his family as a “loving husband and father”, was driving a bus of more than 50 schoolchildren when it hit a reservation on the M53 near Junction 5 and flipped over.

One of the pupils on board, 15-year-old Jessica Baker, was also killed. A boy aged 14 suffered life-changing injuries, while several others were taken to hospital. Four other children were taken to hospital for treatment.

Eyewitnesses have described how injured children climbed through windows of the bus to escape from the wreckage.

The bus had been taking pupils to the all boys Calday Grange Grammar School and the all-girls West Kirby Grammar School when it crashed.

The crash happened just after junction 5, heading towards Liverpool, and closed a junction of the motorway. The road is reopened today.

Have you been affected by this incident? E-mail matt.mathers@independent.co.uk

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