A 25-year-old man from New Zealand, Bradley Douglas, tragically died after being struck by a bus near Clapham Junction station in South London, just a month after moving to the UK, an inquest has heard.
Mr Douglas, originally from Whangarei on New Zealand’s North Island, was fatally injured on a night out with friends last October. He was hit by the bus after stepping onto the road, sustaining a severe head injury. He was taken to St George’s University Hospital in Tooting, where he passed away five days later.
During the inquest at Inner West London Coroner’s Court, it was revealed that Mr Douglas had been “asked to leave” a nearby venue shortly before the incident due to intoxication. The assistant coroner, Jean Harkin, described the tragic events, saying Mr Douglas “walked directly into the path of a bus” after leaving the Clapham Grand entertainment venue.
CCTV footage reviewed by forensic collision investigator Laura Muggleton showed that Mr. Douglas stepped into the road as the bus was making a turn, and although the driver reacted and applied the brakes, the collision could not have been avoided.
The inquest also heard that the bus driver, who was found to have failed a roadside eyesight test, should not have been driving without glasses. However, Ms Muggleton confirmed that the collision would have occurred regardless, stating, “I don’t believe this collision was avoidable.
Despite emergency efforts, including CPR and adrenaline administration by the London Ambulance Service, Mr Douglas was later determined to have suffered an unsurvivable head injury. His parents flew from New Zealand and made the heartbreaking decision to withdraw life support. Mr Douglas was pronounced dead on October 11, 2023.
The court heard that his family consented to organ donation in the aftermath of his death. Concluding the inquest, Mrs Harkin expressed the court’s condolences to Mr Douglas’s family, acknowledging the devastating nature of the incident.
Tributes have poured in for Mr Douglas, who was remembered by friends and family as someone with a “big heart” and described as “special” by those who knew him.
