Bus tragedy girl, 16, lost brother three years ago

Chloe Walker died on the day she turned 16 when the bus taking her home from school collided with a car on the A66 near Keswick, in Cumbria on Monday.

The teenager was described as a "delightful" girl whose tragic death came just three years after her brother Jordan died from the degenerative condition sanfilippo which he had battled since he was seven.

She was killed along with Kieran Goulding, 15, from Whitehaven, who was described as a "typical lad" who was always cheerful.

The smash also claimed the life of pensioner Patrick Short, from Braithwaite, who was behind the wheel of a Honda Civic which police said crossed into the path of the bus.

Both teenagers were studying at Keswick School in the Lake District and were on their way home on a 49-seater coach with more than 30 other students.

The head of Keswick School, Mike Chapman, said: "The second tragedy in the family is just awful. I cannot begin to describe how I would feel in those circumstances."

As shocked classmates gathered for their GCSE English literature exam yesterday, which Chloe should also have been sitting, their headteacher paid tribute to the her.

"She was the sort of bouncy, popular girl, no enemies, lots of friends, having a go at everything," he said.

The coach they pupils were on and the Honda Civic car driven by Mr Short were travelling in opposite directions on a straight stretch of the A66. Police said it was not yet known what may have caused 68-year-old Mr Short – children's services manager at Barnardo's Allerdale Children's Centre in Maryport – to cross to the wrong side of the road.

The carnage was witnessed by around 100 other pupils in two other vehicles ferrying children home.

Tributes have also been paid to two 18-year-old sixth form girls who were travelling in a second vehicle and rushed to give first aid to the injured and dying.

Nine children were still in hospital yesterday, two in a serious but stable condition, in various hospitals across Cumbria and in Newcastle, Preston and Middlesbrough. The coach driver, a 63-year-old man, was also in a stable condition in hospital.

All buses transporting children are required by law to fit seatbelts. It is not yet known whether the students were wearing them.

Floral tributes have been left outside the school and at the nearby church, while inside the school pupils and teachers have created three tribute boards to pay their respects.