Man arrested as bus crash leaves one dead, four hurt

The bus, which was returning from a nightclub, hit a hotel wall before careering into the parapet of a nearby railway bridge in York, early yesterday.

A man inside the bus was trapped under masonry and died shortly afterwards.

The shuttle service was travelling from the Ikon and Diva nightclub, at Clifton Moor, when it hit the partition wall of the Churchill Hotel, in the Bootham area of the city, at 1.50am.

Staff from the hotel were first on the scene.

Duty night manager, Gary Billingham said: "It sounded just like an explosion. We saw what had happened and I rang the emergency services."

The driver of the bus was among the four injured people, who were taken to York Hospital.

The driver was said to be very shocked by the incident but has been released from hospital.

North Yorkshire Police said a 21-year-old local man has been arrested in connection with the crash but confirmed he was not the bus driver.

A spokesman said it was too early to comment on the cause of the crash, which caused rush-hour chaos.

Police closed the A19 at the Clifton Green junction to all southbound traffic until midday.

There were also delays on the York to Scarborough railway line as emergency workers tried to secure the scene. Train services returned to normal at 10.10am.

The man's body was removed from the wreckage at 8.30am and the operation to remove the bus began shortly before 10am.

The First York bus company has operated the Ikon and Diva late-night shuttle service since the club opened five years ago.

Peter Edwards, commercial manager for First, said: "Until now, it has been a trouble-free arrangement. It is so sad that an incident like this has taken somebody's life."

A spokesman for Luminar Leisure, owners of Ikon and Diva, said: "This is a tragic and distressing incident, which has deeply affected staff and management, and will shock our customers."

Police are appealing for witnesses to the accident to phone them on (01904) 669884.