Transport for London (TfL) has issued a humbling apology to the family of a woman it wrongly suggested may have been at fault for her death in a fatal bus crash at Victoria bus station.
It comes only days after Mayor Sadiq Khan apologised to the family of another woman pedestrian killed by a bus at Victoria for TfL’s failure to keep them informed of what happened.
Melissa Burr, 32, was killed when a bus driver lost control of a number 507 electric bus on August 10, 2021, and sent it careering into a stationary 507 – which then crashed into her as she used a pedestrian crossing in the station forecourt.
Last year the TfL committee in charge of safety on the capital’s public transport network incorrectly reported that Ms Burr, from Rainham, had been walking between the two single-deck buses at the time.
Ms Burr, who was run over by the second bus, died from multiple injuries. The driver of the second bus, Diane Mathuranayagum, suffered a fractured eye socket.
In January this year, bus driver Olusofa Popoola, 61, was given an 18-month suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to causing Ms Burr’s death by careless driving. He said he had pressed the accelerator instead of the brake by mistake.
Lilli Matson, TfL’s chief safety, health and environment officer, said on Wednesday that she wanted to “issue a clarification and make a really sincere apology to the family of Melissa Burr”.
Ms Matson said: “Melissa was tragically killed at Victoria bus station on August 10, 2021. In the quarterly safety health and environment report… on May 24, 2023, we made an error in describing the circumstances in which Melissa died.
“The error was that it stated that Melissa walked between two buses, but this was not correct. The wording was erroneous and based on preliminary information that had been obtained at the time of the incident, and prior to any investigation. It did not fully reflect the circumstances and it should not have been used.
“Following the outcome of the investigation, it is clear that Melissa had not been walking between the two buses and was using the crossing.
“None of the tragic events that took place on that day were in any part due to the fault or reactions of Melissa.
“We know that the inaccurate reporting of what happened to Melissa has caused deep distress to Melissa’s mother and family, and on behalf of myself and TfL we are truly sorry.”
At the court hearing, Ms Burr’s mother Trish said: “My daughter was not stupid. She was the completely innocent victim of one man’s incompetent driving.”
Earlier this week, Mr Khan apologised to the family of Catherine Finnigan, 56, also known as Kathleen, who was killed at Victoria station in collision with a number 13 bus in January.
According to TfL documents, the collision happened as the bus “pulled away from a bus stop” beside the station. Ms Finnegan died at the scene.
Mr Khan said he regretted TfL’s failure to contact her family in the weeks immediately after her death and to keep them informed of its ongoing investigation.
TfL has come under increasing scrutiny for the number of pedestrians being killed in London bus crashes. Six have died in bus collisions in 2024. TfL’s aim, under its Vision Zero plan, is to eradicate bus deaths by 2030.
Recent fatalities include a pedestrian being hit by a bus in Barking Road, Newham, on March 26 and dying five days later.
On June 16, a pedestrian was struck by a bus on St Paul’s Way in Mile End, near the junction with Burdett Road. The pedestrian subsequently died a number of days later.
In May, a woman pedestrian was seriously injured after being struck by a double decker outside Victoria station.
She was one of 68 people seriously injured by or on a London bus between April and June this year, according to TfL’s latest data.
The Health and Safety Executive investigated the layout of Victoria bus station and reportedly “identified contraventions of health and safety law”.
The 507 bus, which linked Waterloo and Victoria stations, was axed last year as part of cuts ordered by Mr Khan.
