The driver of a tourist bus that was hit by a car on the Tomei Expressway in central Japan on Saturday says he quickly steered to the left to avert a disaster when he saw something flying towards him.
The car crossed over the median strip and smashed into the front of the bus in Shinshiro City, Aichi Prefecture.
The 62-year-old driver of the car was killed, and 45 people in the bus were injured.
The bus driver, 68-year-old Yoshimune Yamamoto, was taken to hospital with head and shoulder injuries.
Yamamoto told NHK on Sunday that he saw something flying towards the bus, but he couldn’t move to the right because he was in the fast lane and would have hit the median strip and caused a serious accident. He said he veered left instead and applied the emergency brake.
A bus camera video shows Yamamoto trying to steer to the left at the moment of the collision. Police say the bus stopped after running 300 meters.
Yamamoto has been driving buses for 48 years. He says he knew he should move to the left as fast lanes have speeding cars and are dangerous. He said he regained consciousness at the hospital, and is glad he was able to deal with the situation calmly.
His wife is a tour guide and was sitting next to him. He said she thanked him for steering to the left. Yamamoto says he was relieved to hear that all the passengers survived.
Source and image: NHK
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