A SCHOOL bus driver who did not have a full license has walked away with a £235 fine after his coach hit and killed a 15-year-old girl, a court has heard.

Michael John Parker, 62, of Coalville, Leicestershire, was driving a “packed” double decker bus where many of the passengers were standing when the crash happened on January 28.

Pupil Sian Ellie, 15, from Whitwick, was tragically killed at 3.30pm on Meadow Lane outside King Edward VII College.

A hearing today at Leicester Magistrates' Court heard that Parker admitted to not having third party insurance for the vehicle and to driving the bus in a manner likely to cause danger to passengers, the Leicester Mercury reports.

Police told the court that the 62-year-old only had a provisional driving license while operating the school bus.

Prosecutor Sofina Desa said: “He drove to the pick up bus stop at King Edward VII College.

“A number of school children entered the bus. He drove out of the grounds of the school turning left onto Meadow Lane.

FATAL CRASH

“A number of school children were standing up on the bus and a number of them were standing up beyond where they were permitted.”

Four children were standing near the windscreen of the bus, a “dangerous”  area which is not permitted, the court heard.

One witness described the vehicle as “packed full of people and having nowhere to sit down”.

They said that the amount of pupils on the bus was a common occurrence at the end of the school day.

The hearing heard that Parker braked sharply when he Sian on the road – causing one of the kids standing on the bus to hit their head on the windscreen.

Ms Desai said: “The difficulty in this case is that the defendant did not have a licence and as a result he did not have valid insurance on that date.”

Parker was quizzed by cops on the day of the incident – something he volunteered to do.

He admitted to the children standing on the bus in an area which they should not have been allowed and entered a guilty plea.

His lawyer Rachel Diorio said: “He is extremely remorseful for the offences.

“He braked as much as he could but there was nothing he could do to stop the accident.”

She said he had received sympathy cards since the crash to say that it was not his fault.

Parker has received mental health treatment since the fatal collision and is suffering from constant tremors and insomnia.

Ms Diorio added: “He hasn’t driven since the accident and he doesn’t intend to, and he doesn’t want to drive again.”

The bus driver is not working and is being supported by his son, she said.

Parker was fined £120 for his lack of insurance along with £85 court costs and a £30 victim surcharge.

He has been banned from driving for four years.

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Stephen Bryan, chairman of the bench, said: “You were involved in a fatal road accident that day.

“There’s evidence of sustained public service vehicle driving without a licence.

“From the evidence we’ve heard you allowed four passengers to stand in a potentially dangerous area on the bus.

“You engaged in conversation with one of them.

“All of the passengers were school children. An injury occurred to one of the passengers.

“You had a duty of care on behalf of all those children and their families who put them in your care daily.”

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