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Bridlington bus crash restaurant owner says ‘customers very lucky’
Leoz ps1206-20c Bus Crash Leoz
THE OWNER of the Bridlington restaurant smashed into by a bus said his customers “were very lucky to be alive”.
Haydar Koc, known to most in the town as ‘Leo’, runs Leo’z restaurant on Promenade - the side wall of which was slammed into by a bus on Wednesday evening, after the driver was suspected to have suffered a heart attack.
“There was a party of fourteen children, aged 12-14, due to come in for a birthday party. If they had turned up three minutes earlier, they could have all been dead,” said Leo, who has run the restaurant on Promenade for around ten years.
“They had been bowling beforehand and had been slightly delayed, thankfully we only had a few customers in at the time.”
The 512 bus, which normally runs from Bempton Lane, had finished its service and was being driven back to the East Yorkshire Motor Service depot off Bessingby Road. It is believed the driver, thought to be in his 60s and from Bridlington, suffered a heart attack at the wheel and careered into a pillar at the gable end of the restaurant.
Leo continued, “The building inspector afterwards told me that if the bus had hit either side of the pillar, it would have came straight through the restaurant.
“I am always saying I need more customers but this is not a drive-thru!”
Leo said that at around 5.20pm, he heard a “huge, big bang which sounded like a bomb, or a gas explosion.”
At this point, an employee at the Masala Indian restaurant across the road, Jalal Hossain, ran across to tell Leo what had happened.
“Jalal was stood on the other side of the street, and if he had steered in the other direction then he would have been squashed,” Leo continued.
“We were all very lucky.”
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Weather for Bridlington
Friday 25 May 2012
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Temperature: 11 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 24 mph
Wind direction: East
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Temperature: 10 C to 17 C
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Comments
There are 6 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
Renshaw Woods
Tuesday, February 14, 2012 at 10:53 AM#5. My conscience is clear nathan.This could happen to anybody at any time. There are some uninformed comments though. As my old mother used to say, if ifs and ands were pots and pans, there`d be no need for tinkers.
nathan29101993
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 04:20 PMI would appreciate it if you all didnt say anything harsh about the gentleman who had the heart attack. i personally knew him and he lived a healthy life. it was just a freak accident and no one is to blame for this.
Renshaw Woods
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 10:29 AM#2 There is health screening in place as regards your post. Uninformed or wot ? I wonder if there are health checks in place in case cafe owners have a heart attack and fall into the cooking. Dont laugh. It could happen. Heart attacks are a very serious thing.This "modern " thing of "what if " seems to be everywhere with no thought given to "what did". Think positive. It turned out that no-one was hurt. That is good news. This should be a wake up call for Leo. Look at your health Leo. Could something happen to you heart wise. Without a check up you may never know until it is too late. Wise words from Renshaw.
Wayne falcon
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 09:55 PMi think the comments directed at Leo, from Renshaw Woods are insulting, who are you to judge people, the main thing is that nobody was hurt the one good thing, Leo might get planning permission for a drive- thru i hope to visit bridlington in the near future to try out the restaurant. şerefe Wayne 1986
Gwendolyn
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 02:03 PMUnhealthy men and woman at risk of having a heart attack at the wheel of a bus load of school kids for example? I don't think it's a story of ifs and buts at all. Maybe there should be some health screening for drivers of a certain age? No need to be insulting Renshaw Woods. I'm sure you are not the pinickle of perfection. Maybe you are! or maybe you just think you are.
Renshaw Woods
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 12:16 PMThis is a story of IFs and Ands. The truth is, no one was hurt. My question is directed to leo. Who ate the pies. IF he had eaten less he might be better looking. Maybe not.
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