Driver faces retrial after woman crushed to death between two buses

A bus driver accused of killing a woman by crushing her in a crash will face a retrial.

Olusofa Popoola, 60, was driving an electric 507 single decker when he put his foot on the accelerator instead of the brake.

He shunted into the back of a bus that ran over Melissa Burr, 32, outside Victoria Station, London.

Ms Burr from Rainham, Kent, was walking alongside colleagues between the two buses at around 8.25am on August 10, 2021.

She was crushed and later died in hospital from her injuries sustained in the collision.

Popoola from Peckham, south London, admitted causing death by careless driving at the Old Bailey but denies causing death by dangerous driving.

A jury failed to reach verdicts on the dangerous driving charges, after almost 10 hours of deliberation last week.

Popoola’s retrial will take place in August.

He is also accused of seriously injuring another bus driver, Diana Mathuranayagam, in the same collision.

The judge said Popoola will remain on unconditional bail until his retrial.

Popoola worked as a bus driver for 20 years and told the court the bus had lurched forward and he thought there was a mechanical fault.

‘I panicked. I thought the brake had failed. I thought it was the handbrake which started the problem.

‘My brain did not connect with my leg – that I had to use the footbrake.’

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