Did the driver in school trip coach horror fall asleep? Teacher killed and girl aged 13 fights for life as ski holiday bus crashes in France
- Victim, 59, named as schoolteacher Peter Rippington from Alveston
- Four others are in a serious condition in hospital with dozens more hurt
- Coach struck motorway safety barrier before rolling into ditch
- Road sealed off as four ambulance crews and 100 firemen raced to scene
By Vanessa Allen and Katherine Faulkner
Last updated at 11:37 PM on 19th February 2012
Tragic: Peter Rippington pictured with his wife, Sharon. She was also injured in the crash which claimed his life in northern France
A teacher was killed in a school holiday coach crash yesterday which left a 13-year-old girl in a coma.
Peter Rippington, 59, died when the coach bringing the school party home from a ski trip overturned on a motorway in northern France.
His wife Sharon and their daughter Amy, 24, were among 27 injured, four of them seriously.
Police investigating the crash have questioned the British driver amid claims that he might have fallen asleep at the wheel before the 2.30am crash.
Terrified pupils from Alvechurch Church of England Middle School in Alvechurch, Worcestershire, told how they were jolted awake to find their coach 'airborne' after it apparently careered across the road, hit a crash barrier and overturned down a steep embankment.
Police believe maths and PE teacher Mr Rippington was thrown out.
Past and present pupils paid tribute to the 'inspirational' teacher they affectionately called 'Mr Rip'.
Poignantly, he had told pupils he planned to retire in April after a 30-year career and that the ski holiday would be his last major school trip.
The group of 29 pupils and 19 adults were travelling 440 miles from their annual half-term ski holiday in Valle d'Aosta, Italy, to Calais. Their coach was on the A26, nicknamed the 'autoroute des Anglais', 90 miles east of Paris, when the accident happened.
Passengers from a second coach, not believed to be connected to the school, helped pull children from the wreckage and alerted the emergency services.
Those seriously injured included two other children and a second teacher. The girl taken to hospital in a coma was named by friends as 13-year-old Suzie Warner.
Her brother Joseph, 16, sent out a series of heart-rending Twitter messages asking people to pray for his 'beautiful sister'.
Health workers said one 12-year-old girl had broken her shoulder and others were treated for fractures, cuts from broken glass and shock.
Firefighters stand near the damaged bus which crashed in Fagnieres, near Chalons-en-Champagne
Tributes: Youngsters carry a floral tribute to lay outside Alvechurch School. Right, grieving local people embrace outside the school as they struggle to come to terms with the tragic news
Grief: Mourning students leave a floral tribute to their teacher Peter Rippington outside the school
Shock: Another mourner leaves flowers outside the school
'I felt sick when I found out': Heather Abrahall, 17, sister of Isobel Abrahall, who was on the coach when it crashed, stands weeping outside the school. Right, the poignant note left in tribute by pupils
Alvechurch Middle School caters for pupils aged between nine and 13 but several former pupils were also included in the trip.
The party had been travelling in two coaches, one carrying the girls and the other carrying the boys. The girls' coach was the one that crashed. The boys' coach arrived back at the school last night.
The group were on a week-long holiday organised by British company Interski, which specialises in school trips. The children were accompanied by 13 teachers and six instructors from Interski, and there were two coach drivers.
Toppled: A picture taken through the coach's shattered windscreen shows the scene of horror inside the vehicle which careered off the motorway in northern France
Horror: A rescue worker at the scene of the crash involving 47 British holidaymakers yesterday morning in Fagnieres, north-east France, near Chalons-en-Champagne
Crash: The coach struck a motorway barrier before rolling into a ditch at about 3am yesterday morning. Four ambulance crews and 100 firefighters attended
The company chartered the vehicle from Solus Coaches, based in Tamworth, Staffordshire, and it was said to be fully equipped with seatbelts and safety equipment.
Police said the unnamed driver had been treated in hospital and was questioned under caution after he was discharged. He tested negative for drugs and alcohol.
Magistrate Christian de Rocquigny said police were examining if he had been driving throughout the night. The coach had travelled 250 miles from Italy when it crashed.
Emergency response: A member of the rescue team carries a frightened teenage victim to safety in the early hours of this morning following the horror crash
Fear: Another youngster is carried to safety. Pictured behind is the school party's second coach, which was following on behind the bus which crashed
Mr Rippington's wife was still in hospital in France last night. A hospital source said she was conscious and aware of her husband's death.
In a statement, the Rippington family said: 'We are devastated at the tragic loss of Peter, a wonderful husband, father, son, brother, son-in-law, brother-in-law, uncle, friend and teacher.
'We are still extremely concerned about his wife, Sharon, who was injured.
Rescue: Firefighters take an injured crash victim into a medical centre
Injuries: At least one teenage victim is said to be in a 'critical condition'
'Sharon is accompanied by her daughter Amy, who escaped with minor injuries.'
Britain's ambassador to France, Sir Peter Ricketts, met some of the group and said Britain was working closely with the French authorities.
Sir Peter said it had been a 'terribly traumatic' day and consular staff were providing support to the injured.
A French gendarme carries children's possessions away from the stricken coach
Ditch: Firefighters stand the scene of the crash, which is lit from the floodlights of a fire engine
Nightmare: French police are set to arrest the coach's driver, amid suspicions that he fell asleep at the wheel
Outside Reims University Hospital last night, he said the families of the most serious casualties were travelling to be by their side.
'It's been a very sad day,' he said. 'This was a party of people coming back from a skiing holiday and in the middle of the night they are involved in a crash. It's terribly traumatic.
'It's a difficult time for those remaining here because they are injured and in a foreign country.'
Additional reporting: Nick McDermott and Neil Sears
TRAGIC TEACHER WAS ABOUT TO RETIRE
Touching gesture: Pupils from Alvechurch School pay tribute. One holds an apple with a message attached
Grieving pupils, past and present, paid tribute to their beloved 'Mr Rip' yesterday.
They left bouquets, letters and an apple for the popular maths and PE teacher.
Peter Rippington had taught at Alvechurch Middle School for more than 30 years, and was planning to retire in only two months' time.
The micro-blogging site Twitter was flooded with tributes, including 'RIP Mr Rip – you'll never be forgotten,' while others left messages at the school gates.
One read: 'You will be truly missed. You were a one of a kind teacher and you can never be replaced.
'You were funny and kind and always made everyone's day. We will love and miss you forever and always.'
Officials said the school would open today and that pupils would be offered help and support to cope with the tragedy.
Friend Mike Martin, 58, said: 'I used to call him “Mr Alvechurch”. He lived for the children here, he had run these skiing trips for well over a decade, he absolutely loved it.'
Neighbour Brenda Jarvis said: 'He was due to take early retirement this very summer, it would have been his last trip and now he's gone, I just can't believe it.'
Mangled: A close up photograph of the other side of the bus reveals the damage sustained in the accident
Investigation: The bus appears undamaged from one side as a gendarme inspects the vehicle after it was retrieved from the scene
Clues: French gendarmes inspect the damaged bus. A local police spokesman, said they believed the driver fell asleep at the wheel
Protection: Gendarmes stand in front of the leisure centre in Saint Gibrien where survivors of the bus crash with the least serious injuries are being looked after
The bus struck a safety barrier and rolled into a ditch as it travelled on the A26 motorway, near the town of Chalons-en-Champagne, 90 miles east of Paris
Condolences: Superintendent Steve Cullen of West Mercia Police and Liz Eyre, Worcestershire Council's Lead Member for children Services, reading a statement outside Alvechurch School
Email to a friend
Print version
Plain text
Post your comment