John
03-31-2010, 04:56 PM
A schoolgirl who died when a coach carrying a party of teenagers on a trip to a theme park crashed has been named by police.
Natasha Paton, 17, from Cleghorn, near Lanark, was in a group heading for Alton Towers in Staffordshire when their bus crashed on a bridge and plunged into a stream during a snowstorm.
Three others on the trip from Lanark Grammar School, South Lanarkshire, were seriously injured and NHS Lanarkshire said a total of 44 people had received hospital treatment following the crash.
Police said the cause of the accident was still under investigation, but given the "horrendous" weather conditions in the area, it was clear snow "had a part to play".
The bus had only been on the road for about 12 miles when the driver lost control on the icy surface and crashed through the bridge wall, plunging 10ft into the river below.
Natasha is thought to have been thrown out of the vehicle as it careered down the embankment and was trapped underneath when it came to a rest. Fire and rescue service workers who arrived at the scene were forced to rescue the other passengers through the sun roof.
The driver was trapped inside the bus and had to be stretchered out by emergency workers. By lunchtime, 25 of the injured had been allowed to go home while 19 remained in various hospitals around Lanarkshire and Glasgow. All the patients were said to be in a stable condition.
The annual trip was organised by the school as a pre-Easter break from exam studies for sixth-year pupils.
But one mother said she was surprised it went ahead. Susan Thornton decided not to allow her son Adam to go on the outing because of the weather. Asked if she was surprised the trip had gone ahead, she told the BBC News channel: "I was very surprised. It was midnight when I made the decision.
"When I woke it was clear that it had been snowing through the night because of the level of snow. It was bad enough at midnight for me to consider him not going."
Natasha Paton, 17, from Cleghorn, near Lanark, was in a group heading for Alton Towers in Staffordshire when their bus crashed on a bridge and plunged into a stream during a snowstorm.
Three others on the trip from Lanark Grammar School, South Lanarkshire, were seriously injured and NHS Lanarkshire said a total of 44 people had received hospital treatment following the crash.
Police said the cause of the accident was still under investigation, but given the "horrendous" weather conditions in the area, it was clear snow "had a part to play".
The bus had only been on the road for about 12 miles when the driver lost control on the icy surface and crashed through the bridge wall, plunging 10ft into the river below.
Natasha is thought to have been thrown out of the vehicle as it careered down the embankment and was trapped underneath when it came to a rest. Fire and rescue service workers who arrived at the scene were forced to rescue the other passengers through the sun roof.
The driver was trapped inside the bus and had to be stretchered out by emergency workers. By lunchtime, 25 of the injured had been allowed to go home while 19 remained in various hospitals around Lanarkshire and Glasgow. All the patients were said to be in a stable condition.
The annual trip was organised by the school as a pre-Easter break from exam studies for sixth-year pupils.
But one mother said she was surprised it went ahead. Susan Thornton decided not to allow her son Adam to go on the outing because of the weather. Asked if she was surprised the trip had gone ahead, she told the BBC News channel: "I was very surprised. It was midnight when I made the decision.
"When I woke it was clear that it had been snowing through the night because of the level of snow. It was bad enough at midnight for me to consider him not going."