Sydney teenager in stable condition after fall from moving B-Line bus

A 16-year-old girl remained in stable condition in hospital on Tuesday after falling from a moving B-Line bus onto a road in Sydney’s northern beaches the previous evening. Transport for NSW said the bus had been withdrawn from service while it and the operator investigate. The incident has also been reported to the state’s transport safety investigations office. What caused the fall has not been established.

The girl fell from the double-decker bus on Manly Road at Seaforth, near the Spit Bridge, on Monday, 28 September. The Northern Beaches Advocate placed the incident just past Battle Boulevard, on a northbound service. Police and ambulance crews responded around 5.45pm, according to local reports, which gave slightly different approximate times. The bus was carrying passengers when she fell.

Emergency response and hospital condition

The Northern Beaches Advocate reported that the girl was conscious and sitting up when paramedics arrived. It said she was treated for bruising on the right side of her head and pain in her right hip and lower back. Four ambulance crews attended, and a rescue helicopter was dispatched but called off after paramedics assessed her condition as stable, the outlet reported.

She was taken by road to Royal North Shore Hospital shortly after 6.15pm, according to the Advocate. A hospital spokesperson told the Guardian on Tuesday that she remained in a stable condition. Transport for NSW described her injuries as minor in a statement to the Guardian and wished her well in her recovery. Those descriptions reflect what was known at the time of the reports; no later medical update is included here.

Bus withdrawn as inquiries begin

Transport for NSW told the Guardian it was aware of the incident and that the bus involved had been withdrawn from service while the department and Keolis Northern Beaches investigated. The operator told the Manly Observer on Monday that there would be a full investigation. In a later statement to the Guardian, Keolis confirmed that a passenger had fallen from its B-Line service near the Spit Bridge and said its thoughts were with the passenger and her family.

The Guardian reported that the incident had been referred to the NSW Office of Transport Safety Investigations. It also reported that Bustech double-decker B-Line buses were understood to have been taken out of service, but said neither Keolis nor Transport for NSW had confirmed which vehicles were withdrawn or when. The confirmed withdrawal is the bus involved in Monday’s incident; the reported wider withdrawal remains unconfirmed.

Union checks reports about doors

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union said on Tuesday that it was investigating reports from drivers that doors on buses in the fleet had opened unexpectedly before. Its NSW tram and bus division secretary, Peter Grech, called on Keolis and Transport for NSW to explain whether they had received warnings and how they had responded. The union’s reports are allegations under examination, rather than established findings about this bus or any earlier incident.

Grech said the union was checking the circumstances of the fall. The Guardian reported that the union was seeking records from Keolis and Transport for NSW under work health and safety legislation as part of its inquiry. The publication said it had not been established when or how any earlier concerns were reported to management, what response drivers received, or what measures were taken to address the risk.

The Northern Beaches Advocate described an apparent door failure based on reports from the scene, while also saying its cause was unknown. Investigators have yet to establish the sequence of events that led to the girl falling from the bus. Their findings will be needed to determine whether a door malfunction occurred and whether any reported earlier problems are connected to Monday’s incident.