Dylan, 12, still reliving accident when Translink double-decker bus toppled over near Carrowdore while transporting pupils from Strangford Integrated College
A 12-year-old boy who was in the double-decker bus that toppled over in north Down on Monday is still reliving the experience, his mother says.
Dylan Lee was one of 43 pupils from Strangford Integrated College in Co Down which toppled into a field on Ballyblack Road East near Carrowdore on Monday afternoon.Two children were rescued from the bus by firefighters using specialist cutting equipment.
Four children were taken by ambulance to hospital and more than 40 were treated in the emergency department of the Ulster Hospital.Two were kept in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.Lacey Lee told the News Letter her son was still recovering from the accident three days later.
"He has got really stiff across his chest and his wee back," his mother Stacey Lee said. "Emotionally you can see he is reliving it - he is just shattered. He doesn;'t even want to get in a car at the minute."
Her son has a large graze on his head and his hand was also hurt, but he was not required to go to hospital.
"The doctors said to give him ibrufen and paracetamol and keep an eye on his hand because it was swelling up, but now it seems to be okay.
Stacey is hoping Dylan will return to his classes on Monday - but he has taken the rest of this week off to recover.
He is adamant he will not get onto another double-decker bus - he was on the top deck when it toppled over.
"I said to him, 'if it is a double decker bus which arrives to take you to school, just come home again'.
However, the school has advised parents that from now on Translink will only be putting single-decker buses on the route.
Stacey commended the plasterer, Gary Smyth, who stopped to help and used a hammer to smash open a window and free the children.
In her opinion it is quite a small country road the bus was travelling on.
"We still don't know exactly what has happened, why it went off the road."
Stacey believes the bus hit a wooden pole carrying a power line or similar.
"It hit something and then just stalled or started wiggling, the whole bus started shaking. And when Dylan woke up he was lying on the window."
At that point Dylan phoned his mother - who was shocked to hear all the children screaming in the background.
"He remembers the bus tipping over into the field. That is the worst thing - that he was so high up when it tipped over. He relives it - he can still feel the shaking."
"He says that when he closes his eyes he can just see everything shaking."He is not sleeping much although he seems to be perking up and his going out for lunch with his Dad today (Thursday).
"The day after the accident he went to the local shop with his friends but by 3pm he was "done" and was "out cold".
Stacey had hoped to take him to the counselling laid on by the school yesterday (Friday).
However instead she took him to the hospital emergency department for an ex-ray of a sore elbow.
"Thankfully it was muscle bruising and not broke, thank God,” she added.