Jury hears how bus driver dragged student under wheels for a HALF MILE and stopped to pick up passenger

 
Ming Wei Tan: Died from massive internal injuries after she was trapped under the wheels of a London bus
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A bus driver dragged a woman beneath his wheels for more than half a mile and stopped to pick up a passenger, a court heard today.

Ming Wei Tan, 20, a Cambridge student, died from massive internal injuries near Belsize Park Tube station after returning from a holiday with friends.

She had crossed the road in front of a double decker bus, driven by Shahriar Firouzian, when she was hit, Blackfriars Crown Court heard.

The court heard that Firouzian had “totally failed to see her”, possibly due to a blind spot, as he made a right-hand turn in the early hours of 30 September 2010.

Opening the case, prosecutor Hamish Reid said that after hitting Miss Tan, a medical science undergraduate, Firouzian, 52, stopped to pick up and elderly female passenger at a bus stop.

The prosecution claim CCTV shows a “shadow” that is Miss Tan, but the court heard that in his statement to police afterwards, But Firouzian, from Watford, thought he had possibly driven over a fox.

Mr Reid said: “All this while, Miss Tan is underneath the bus. Her body only becomes free from the underside of the bus... about 825 metres away.”

Mr Reid added that because the driver was unaware Miss Tan was underneath that he “had not reason to stop when she came out from underneath the back of the bus” in Haverstock Hill.

She suffered “massive internal injuries”, he said.

Mr Reid said that Firouzian went back to the depot and clocked off as normal.

It was only when he came to work the following morning and was suspended that he knew of the death, Mr Reid said.

In a statement to police, Firouzian, an experienced driver, said: “It was a perfectly normal journey so far as I was aware.

“I think night bus drivers drive over objects in the road, I try and to avoid cats, foxes, rubbish bags and bottles.”

Jurors saw CCTV footage from the N5 night bus driven by Mr Firouzian.

He was born in Iran and learned to drive in Sweden but was fully qualified to operate vehicles in the UK.

There were no alcohol or drugs in his system, Mr Reid said.

Miss Tan, from Singapore, was due to start her third year medical science degree at Peterhouse College and was also president of the university’s karate club.

She had just returned hours earlier from a holiday with friends in Cyprus and had travelled by night bus to collect some luggage from a family friend West Hampstead so she could fly to Rome from Stansted the next day.

She was hit shortly after changing off an N24 bus and walking down the road.

Tomorrow, jurors will visit the scene at Pond Street where Miss Tan is believed to have been struck and where one of her shoes was found.

His Honour Judge Hillen told them they would be travelling on the bus the defendant was driving at the time.

The jury will not see graphic photographs from the scene when Miss Tan died, which Mr Reid called “distressing and unnecessary”.

The jury was due to hear today from witnesses working near the scene.

Miss Tan’s family will not be attending the trial, which is expected to take seven days.

Mr Reid told the jury: “Whatever your decision in this case he (Firouzian) will have to live with this for the rest of his life.”

The case continues.

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