THE family of a child killed as he fell under the wheels of a double decker are calling for new safety guidelines on buses.
Twelve-year-old Jamie Lee Wells slipped as he tried to get down from a moving bus through mysteriously opened doors.
Police are investigating the possibility that some children on the bus had been misbehaving before the accident at the junction of Burlam Road and Roman Road, in Middlesbrough, on Friday.
Moments before tragedy struck, the bus driver told children on board to stop "messing about".
Speaking for Jamie's devastated family, his Uncle Ozzie Bingham said: "We don't think the driver is to blame. We think it was kids playing around and perhaps a practical joke has gone horribly wrong.
"New buses can't drive if a door is open, and perhaps such safety features should be fitted to all vehicles. Perhaps they should also have an adult on board on school runs, keeping an eye on things."
Mr Bingham added: "You can't turn the clock back, but I hope it makes people and the bus companies think, and try to avoid a similar tragedy in the future."
Jamie, a pupil at Acklam Grange School, Middlesbrough, had stopped using the bus to save money to buy his mum a Mother's Day gift.
On the day he was killed, he had walked most of the way home to Dufton Road, Linthorpe, but had decided to catch the bus for the last two stops.
The school is helping the police in tracing pupils who had been on Jamie's bus.
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