Coventry bus crash: Horrifying moment driver, 80, ploughs double-decker into supermarket killing boy, 7, and pedestrian

This is the horrifying moment an elderly bus driver ploughed a double-decker into a supermarket, killing a pedestrian and a seven-year-old boy.

Kailash Chander, was driving dangerously when he crashed into the shop in Coventry in October 2015, a trial of facts found.

Primary school pupil Rowan Fitzgerald, who was sitting at the front of the upper deck, died of a head injury, while 76-year-old pedestrian Dora Hancox died from multiple injuries after being hit by the bus and a falling lamppost.

The 80-year-old, who was 77 at the time of the crash, was ruled mentally unfit to stand trial at Birmingham Crown Court due to post-traumatic stress disorder and frontal lobe dementia.

The court heard Chander had been warned about his "erratic" driving by bus company Midland Red after four crashes in the previous three years.

The former mayor of Leamington Spa, had worked for more than 70 hours in the week leading up to the accident, which saw him drive "full throttle" for almost 82 metres.

Prosecutors said he mistook the accelerator for the brake before the fatal smash.

Chander had also been the subject of eight warning letters triggered by a "spy-in-the-cab" telematics system installed by Midland Red (South) in 2014 to monitor braking, acceleration and speeding.

Seven months before the fatal crash, he was referred to the company's driving school, which sent an anonymous assessor to report on his driving.

The instructor said the journey was "uncomfortable and erratic" - with constant heavy braking and driving which "would not have been good enough" to pass an initial training driving test.

A pre-trial hearing was told Chander may have been suffering from undiagnosed dementia - without showing symptoms to colleagues - at the time of the crash.

Jurors deliberated for around three hours on Tuesday before finding that Chander was driving dangerously when he caused the two deaths and serious injury to two other passengers, including Rowan's eight-year-old cousin.

Jurors were not asked to return verdicts of guilty because Chander was mentally unfit to take part in the hearing. They were instead invited to rule on whether he "did the acts" alleged.

Defence lawyers acting for Chander had argued his conduct was careless because it did not fall far below the standard expected of a competent driver.

But prosecution QC Andrew Thomas told the jury: "In the scale of driver errors, nothing could be more obvious, and nothing could be more devastating, than putting your foot down on the throttle pedal and accelerating over a prolonged period of time when you are supposed to be braking."

Jurors were shown CCTV footage of Chander - who struggled to punch a ticket moments before the crash as his hands were shaking - steering the bus as it careered over a pavement into the supermarket.

The footage showed a bystander waving frantically at other pedestrians to move out of the way as the upper deck of the bus struck the side of the Sainsbury's store.

Stockport-based Midland Red (South), part of Stagecoach, pleaded guilty last year to offences contrary to the Health and Safety at Work Act by permitting Chander to continue driving despite warnings about his competence and fatigue.

Chander could face a supervision order at a further hearing on November 26. Midland Red, which faces an unlimited fine, will be sentenced on the same date.

A spokesman for Midland Red (South) Ltd said: "None of us at our company will ever forget the terrible events of 3 October 2015. We are deeply sorry for the heartache of those affected, particularly the families of Rowan Fitzgerald and Dora Hancox.

"We have made it our continuing priority to work very closely with the authorities to help fully understand and learn detailed lessons from what has happened. The court hearing has been an important part of that process. We intend to comment further at the end of the case after the court has made its decision."