Personal injury news- Elderly passenger in crash could claim whiplash compensation

Elderly day-trippers suffered serious passenger injuries as their coach crashed into a wall.

Residents from Exmouth may consider making a whiplash compensation claim after a day trip to Dartmoor ended in a serious road accident when their coach ploughed into a wall.

The Hookways coach was carrying 20 passengers, mostly from sheltered housing, when the accident happened on the 17th September.

Valerie Drew sustained a whiplash injury, broken arm and some bruising in the crash. The 71-year-old was travelling with her husband Gordon, 74, in the front seats of the coach.

She said, "Whenever I close my eyes, I can see that wall coming towards us. It was frightening, really frightening. I thought my husband was going to go through the window.

"It certainly wasn't the drivers fault. If he had gone straight on, we would have hit other cars and there would have been fatalities. He swerved into the wall to stop the coach."

An investigation is being carried out by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency after claims have been made that the coach's brakes failed as it travelled down a steep slope on the B3387 in Ponsworthy.

In the future, Mrs Drew may consider making a whiplash compensation claim for her injury sustained in the crash.