Two people remained seriously injured in hospital on Sunday evening after a serious road crash in which a bus and a car collided before the double decker bus hit a tree and railings in south Dublin late on Friday.
The front of the bus was very badly, with the top deck windscreen broken and a section of the roof destroyed after the vehicle hit a large tree on the roadside, knocking down part of it.
The Garda investigation into the incident was focused on the driver of the car, who was carrying at least one passenger at the time of the crash.
Gardaí had received reports that the man driving the car was acting suspiciously in the vehicle on Friday night in the period before the crash, which happened at the junction of Northumberland Rd and Haddington Rd, in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.
Gardaí on patrol in the area were looking for the driver at the time he collided with the bus. The driver was seen in the south inner city in his car several times by gardaí before the vehicle was driven away again.
Because gardaí were looking for the driver and trying to bring his car to a stop around the time of the crash the incident has been referred by Garda Headquarters, Phoenix Park, Dublin, to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc).
The Garda ombudsman is legally obliged to investigate any incidents that result in injury to any person at or around the time they have had dealings with Garda members, including being sought or pursued by gardaí.
The car overturned in the collision and the bus was shunted towards a building, hitting railings around the property and a tree outside it.
One line of inquiry is the driver of the car may have broken a red light at the time the bus was crossing the junction while carrying passengers on the Number 7 route towards the city centre.
Eight people were injured and seven required hospital treatment including the bus driver, four of his passengers, the male driver of the car that overturned and his female passenger.
The man driving the car and the woman who was also in the car were among those taken to St Vincent’s Hospital for treatment. The bus driver, who was badly injured, was also treated in hospital.
However, it is understood the worst injuries were those sustained by passengers on the bus. One passenger who was sitting upstairs at the time appears to have suffered the most serious injuries, though he was expected to survive.
Dublin Bus said in a statement there were eight passengers on the bus at the time of the crash, adding the driver and four passengers were taken to St Vincent's Hospital.
“The matter is under investigation by An Garda Síochána and Dublin Bus has also commenced an internal investigation,” it said.
Garda Headquarters said the scene of the crash was sealed off on Friday night when gardaí arrived and had since undergone a technical examination as part of the investigation now underway.
Garda in Irishtown station were investigating and were appealing for anyone with information, including dashcam footage, to contact them.
