Bus Crash Victim 'Was Gorgeous Little Boy'

The seven-year-old victim of the Coventry bus crash has been described as a "gorgeous little boy with a smile to melt any heart".

Rowan Fitzgerald, a pupil at St Anthony's Catholic Primary School, was on the top deck of the Stagecoach vehicle when it ploughed into a supermarket in the city centre on Saturday.

Dora Hancox, in her 70s and from Nuneaton, was also killed as she walked along Trinity Street.

Rowan's headteacher Jane McSharry, said: "Rowan was a perfect, kind, unassuming, gorgeous little boy, with a smile to melt any heart.

"The thoughts and prayers of our whole school community are with his family at this tragic time."

Meanwhile, the family of bus driver Kailash Chander, 77, who is a grandfather and former town mayor, said "he is devastated to the core by what has happened".

A statement said: "He is a very quiet man, and a caring and devoted person.

"He has strong ties with the local community and has spent most of his life helping and thinking of others."

The statement added the crash was "beyond anyone's imagination".

Mr Chander has not been arrested but is helping with the police investigation, said West Midlands Police.

Stagecoach Midlands said Mr Chander "has many years' experience and has passed a mandatory annual medical".

Earlier, police revealed an eight-year-old girl critically injured in the accident was Rowan's cousin.

The two children were travelling with their grandparents on the top deck when it hit stationary cars and a lamppost before smashing into the store at 6pm.

The girl is now said to be in a stable condition in hospital.

Five people were injured and taken to hospital, and two others were treated at the scene.

Hazel Boardhurst, who was in the supermarket at the time, told Sky News: "I really didn't know what it was - I thought it might be a bomb or an IS attack - you just don't know these days.

"To find out seconds later it was a bus was unbelievable. Those poor children who were injured - your heart goes out to them."

Maneer Fiaz told Sky News he was shopping nearby when he heard a "loud bang" and saw people running to the scene.

"People were trying to get the driver out. The kids were trapped underneath the seats upstairs. It was absolute chaos,” he said.