Double-Decker Bus Smashes Into Bridge Overpass in Britain: Nine Passengers Injured as Roof Ripped Off Bus

London, United Kingdom— The bridge was marked. The driver missed it. On Tuesday afternoon a double-decker bus on a diverted route struck a low railway overpass in southwest London. The top deck peeled like tin. Nine passengers were injured.

BBC UK said the collision happened at 3:48 p.m. in Wandsworth, at the bridge on Falcon Road where clearance is 3.1 meters. A standard double-decker is 4.4 meters high. The bus was not supposed to be on that road.

Witnesses said the bus was traveling at about 20 mph when it hit. A loud scrape, then screams from upstairs. The roof was ripped back to the middle axle. Passengers on the top deck were thrown forward. Glass and metal fell onto the pavement.

"The driver shouted stop, but it was too late," a teenager who was on the lower deck said, with a cut on his forehead. "People upstairs were bleeding. Someone was stuck." He helped others out through the lower doors.

London Ambulance Service said nine people were taken to St George's Hospital, two with serious head injuries. The rest suffered cuts and fractures. The driver was unhurt but in shock. Police breathalyzed him. Negative.

Network Rail closed the bridge for structural inspection. Trains over it were halted for 90 minutes. Bus operator Go-Ahead London said the driver was new to the route and following a sat-nav diversion after a road closure on Battersea Park Road. The diversion was not cleared for double-deckers.

Bridge strikes by buses happen weekly in Britain. Network Rail logs over 1,600 a year. Most involve lorries, but buses account for a rising share as diversion routes rely on apps not built for vehicle height. A national database of low bridges exists. Use is voluntary.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch said it will not investigate because the bridge did not fail, but the Traffic Commissioner may review the operator's route risk assessment.

Tonight the bus remains wedged under the bridge, its roof folded back. The road is closed. Nine people are in hospital beds.