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Passengers hurt in M3 coach crash near Fleet
By Stephen Lloyd & Laura NightingaleJanuary 07, 2013
SEVEN people were treated in hospital following a coach crash near Fleet services on the M3 on Sunday night.
The 40-seater coach, which is registered in Holland, was carrying 26 passengers to Southampton, all of whom were believed to be Dutch nationals.
The vehicle went down an embankment off the southbound carriageway at around 6pm after the driver became unwell at the wheel. It ended up on its side among bushes and trees.
Police and other emergency services were called to the scene and the M3 was shut from Junction 4a to Junction 5 for the passengers to be got off the coach and the vehicle to be recovered.
Two men and two women were taken to Frimley Park Hospital, all four of them with minor injuries. Two were discharged overnight, with a man and woman still being looked after and in a "comfortable condition" on Monday.
Three other people were treated at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital's emergency department before being discharged.
A Hampshire Fire Service spokesman said: "The coach came off the carriageway and went down an embankment.
"It ended up on its side. There were a few walking wounded and we had to cut two people out but luckily no-one was seriously hurt."
A diversion was put in place along the A30 and motorists were advised to avoid the area.
The slip road onto the M3 at Junction 4a remained closed into the early hours of Monday, along with two lanes of the motorway.
All patients assessed and treated at the hospital have since been discharged.
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