A Transperth bus driver has been stood down after trapping a boy’s foot in a door and driving off, smashing his pelvis and a hand.
Jeremy Thompson hopped on the bus with a group of friends on Pinjarra Road in Mandurah but before he could fully get aboard, the driver shut the door.
Despite protests from his friends and other witnesses, the driver accelerated the bus, dragging the 12-year-old along the road.
“I took one foot on the bus, he closed it and he dragged me from the bus stop all the way to the lights,” Jeremy told Nine News.
“If I leant back more my head would have went into the wheel.
“He just closed the doors, the boys were telling him to stop and they liked kicked the door and stuff … telling him to stop but he just kept going.”
Jeremy, who had jumped on the 600 bus bound for Pinjarra to visit his grandmother, was dragged for 300m — with witnesses desperately trying to get the driver to stop.
Jamie Phillips said she chased the bus, yelling at the driver to stop.
“I heard a boy yelling and banging, ‘Let me in, let me in’, and when I turned he was like obviously banging on the bus door,” she told Nine News.
“So he began to hop and then lost his footing and then was dragged by the bus.”
Jeremy was dragged on the busy street, which has a speed limit of 60km/h, before the driver stopped at the Mandurah Road intersection traffic lights, opened the door to release the boy and, according to witnesses, drove off.
Jeremy was taken to Peel Health Campus then transferred to Perth Children’s Hospital where he had two skin grafts.
The Public Transport Authority said the bus driver had been stood down.
“During the incident a 12-year-old boy had his foot stuck in the door and received injuries after being dragged by the bus,” it said.
“The PTA can confirm the driver of the bus has since been stood down by our contractor.
“As the matter is under investigation by police, we cannot comment further at this time.
“The PTA and its contractor are assisting with the inquiries.”
Premier Roger Cook said Jeremy’s were “horrific” and flagged a police investigation into the incident.
“This is a very distressing report and I believe the bus driver involved has been stood down,” Mr Cook said.
“The PTA will undertake a thorough investigation and potentially the police as well.”
National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project director Megan Krakouer said the driver needed to be held to account.
“There needs to be accountability,” she said. “The bus driver; the family want him charged.
“In terms of Transperth, there has to be some accountability … the police need to do their job properly, there needs to be a thorough investigation in a timely manner.”
Jeremy’s grandmother Brenda Hart said the ordeal had left Jeremy with nightmares.
“At nighttime, he’s waking up screaming, so I need to try to organise some counselling for that,” she said.
