A London bus driver was convicted after a passenger died from injuries sustained while trying to board his bus.
Mitchell waited hours for an ambulance, bleeding a lot. He died in the hospital almost a month later. Aston Hopwood, 47, who drove the bus, said he knew nothing about it, but police told his bosses about the incident.
Hopwood said he didn’t check for passengers before driving away, and denied causing death by careless driving. However, a retrial happened at the Old Bailey, and he was found guilty this past Wednesday.
Judge Anthony Leonard KC gave Hopwood 12 months in custody, suspended for two years. He must also do 140 hours of unpaid work and cannot drive for two years.
Judge Leonard acknowledged the stress Hopwood faced, stating that waiting for two trials was hard and that Hopwood was upset by Mr. Mitchell’s death.
The Judge also expressed surprise that the bus company, Go-Ahead London, let Hopwood appeal his dismissal, which came after the incident.
He said anyone watching the video would agree Hopwood should not drive passengers. Earlier, a witness called 999 to report the event, noting Mr. Mitchell’s bleeding arm and helping him to a hostel, from where Mitchell called 999 again.
He told the 999 operator that a bus ran over his arm, which was bleeding badly and broken. He said his condition was getting worse, with blood pouring out, causing awful pain, and needing help fast.
Mitchell received advice to stop the bleeding and followed the instructions. He said the bleeding was “sort of” controlled. Emergency crews got to the hostel at 12:35 a.m., finding him in a chair in reception with a lot of blood around.
Mitchell spoke to the police at the hospital, stating he had tried to catch a bus on Peckham Hill Street, but his arm was trapped in the door. He said the bus then moved off, causing him to fall and his arm to go under the wheels.
Afterward, he had multiple operations and went to intensive care, but his organs were failing. Life support was removed on December 18, 2022, and the cause of death was organ failure and sepsis, confirmed by a post-mortem exam.
A pathologist found other factors, including pneumonia, chronic liver disease, and being “chronically alcohol dependent,” along with “blunt force trauma.” The prosecutor said the trauma caused death, as Mitchell would have lived otherwise.
Jurors watched a video of Mr. Mitchell approaching the bus while the doors were still open. He stepped onto the bus and put his hand in the door area, but the bus started moving away. He stumbled, running along with the bus as his hand remained stuck in the door area.
Mitchell fell near the bus, but it kept going, and the wheels went over his arm. In a police interview on January 30, 2023, Hopwood admitted he drove the bus but did not know Mitchell was boarding. He said he did not check his mirrors or for passengers.
Hopwood made this error before driving the bus, police said. He told police: “I didn’t look back and check again,” calling that his “only downfall.”