Drunk Brit-Indian school bus driver who sliced roof off double-decker avoids jail

LONDON - A British-Indian school bus driver, Gurdeep Singh Sagoo, who drove the double-decker school bus into the underside of a railway bridge in Buckinghamshire in a drunken state just minutes after dropping off 46 school children, has avoided going to jail.

According to the Daily Mail, Sagoo was at Reading Crown Court on Wednesday, where he was given a suspended prison sentence after admitting drink-driving and dangerous driving.

The court heard that the bridge was 12feet 9 inches high, which was clearly signposted along with a number of yellow and black chevrons around it. The defendant drove through the bridge removing the top section of the bus.’

Rachel Adams, defending his case, said her client was jobless and has the responsibility of looking after his elderly mother.

Judge Gordon Risius said Sagoo’s driving was ‘thoughtless’ rather than reckless.

Sagoo has been given an eight month jail term suspended for two years. Further, he was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and banned him from driving for two years.

The accident in Langley, Berkshire, led to the main rail line between London and the West being closed and a bill of 250,000 pounds being handed to the coach company by Network Rail for 180 cancelled services. (ANI)