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Victoria bus crash driver avoids jail for killing pedestrian

Olusofa Popoola, 61, accidentally accelerated into the back of a stationary bus, shunting it forward into Melissa Burr.

Emily Pennink
Friday 05 January 2024 12:51 GMT
Melissa Burr (Metropolitan Police/PA)
Melissa Burr (Metropolitan Police/PA) (PA Archive)

A bus driver has avoided jail for killing a pedestrian outside Londonā€™s Victoria railway station.

Olusofa Popoola, 61, accidentally accelerated into the back of a stationary bus, shunting it forward into Melissa Burr.

Ms Burr, 32, died from multiple injuries and the other bus driver, Diane Mathuranayagum, suffered a fractured eye socket in the incident in Terminus Place on the morning of August 10 2021.

Popoola, of Peckham, south-east London, admitted causing Ms Burrā€™s death by careless driving and said he had pressed the accelerator instead of the brake by mistake.

After a retrial, he was cleared of the more serious charge of causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury to the other driver.

I am satisfied you failed to look ahead sufficiently and that certainly, at times, you were pressing the accelerator thinking it was the brake

Judge Rebecca Trowler

On Friday, Judge Rebecca Trowler sentenced Popoola at the Old Bailey to 18 months imprisonment suspended for two years.

She said she had exercised her discretion in favour of suspending the sentence in light of the defendantā€™s ā€œpersonal mitigationā€.

She also said she had ā€œregard to the impact on prisons with a very high prison populationā€.

Ms Burrā€™s family wept in court as the defendant walked free from the dock.

During the hearing, Judge Trowler said Popoolaā€™s driving fell ā€œjust short of dangerous drivingā€.

She said: ā€œHaving considered carefully all the evidence in the trials, I am satisfied you failed to look ahead sufficiently and that certainly, at times, you were pressing the accelerator thinking it was the brake.

ā€œI am also satisfied Melissa Burr made no contribution to her own death.ā€

Outlining the facts, Judge Trowler said Ms Burr, from Rainham in Kent, had been travelling to work ā€œas usualā€ on the morning of the incident.

Shortly before 8.30am, she was using a pedestrian walkway at the bus station and crossed towards the door of a 507 bus parked at its stop.

The judge told Popoola: ā€œAs she did so, that bus was shunted forward from behind by the bus that you were driving.

ā€œMelissa Burr was hit by the front bus. The impact knocked her to the ground and the bus was then shunted forward by your bus and over Melissaā€™s body.

ā€œShe was later pronounced dead at the scene.ā€

In all, the judge said Popoola had lost control of his vehicle for around 10 seconds, even after he realised he had hit the bus in front.

My daughter was not stupid. She was the completely innocent victim of one manā€™s incompetent driving

Trish Burr

Judge Trowler acknowledged the Burr familyā€™s ā€œdistress and devastationā€, saying the victim was ā€œdeeply lovedā€.

During two trials, jurors were shown distressing CCTV footage of the incident to assess how Popoola drove.

Judge Trowler recognised the ā€œdignityā€ Ms Burrā€™s family had shown in court as the moments of her death were described ā€œover and over againā€.

Reading statements in court, Ms Burrā€™s mother Trish and brother Graham Burr told how they struggled to comprehend how Popoola, an experienced professional driver, could have made such a mistake.

Mrs Burr said: ā€œMy daughter was not stupid. She was the completely innocent victim of one manā€™s incompetent driving.ā€

She told Popoola he was more fortunate because she had been handed a ā€œlife sentenceā€ without her kind and talented daughter.

Mr Burr described being on holiday with his wife and children when he heard about the accident on the news.

He said he fell to his knees ā€œcrying, speechless, numb, confused and hurtā€.

He described the impact as like a ā€œchina vase smashed into a thousand piecesā€ with some pieces lost and others not fitting back together as they should.

The court was told that Popoola had lost his job as a result of the accident and had since begun studying cyber security.

He was said to be ā€œhauntedā€ by the loss of life he caused.

As part of his sentence, Judge Trowler handed him 140 hours of unpaid work and a driving ban of three years.

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