Coach pair guilty of manslaughterThe driver of a coach, which killed a married couple and orphaned their son, and his boss are preparing to be sent to prison after admitting manslaughter over the road crash.
Robert Oughton, 52, from Burntwood, Staffordshire, was driving the coach which crashed into a Volkswagen Passat and killed Paul and Deborah Clements, aged 40 and 39, of Rawmarsh. The coach was carrying the Walsall-based West Midland Crystalettes when it crashed on the A64 at the bottom of Staxton Hill, near Scarborough, North Yorkshire.
The couple leave behind a 16-year-old son, who was not travelling in the car at the time of the accident on September 21 last year. Six passengers on the bus suffered minor injuries.
The coach driver and his boss, John Lote, 60, also from Burntwood, appeared at Leeds Crown Court and pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of gross negligence. The coach was not in a safe and roadworthy condition, the braking system was unchecked and appropriate safety checks were not carried out.
Oughton also entered a guilty plea to causing death by dangerous driving, as the driver for 1-4-You Airports and Coach Travel was not driving safely. The pair have been bailed ahead of sentencing on November 13..
Copyright © Press Association 2009
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