Bus bumps into art gallery

Tuesday January 26, 2010

When Chris Guillochon opened a pop-up art show in Fulham he wasn't counting on a bus popping in.

The art dealer had the fright of his life on January 8 when an out-of-control bus smashed into the corner of his shop, narrowly missing valuable canvases in the front window.

The 424 bus, bound for Munster Road, had been travelling south-west along Fulham Road when it lost control and ploughed into the gallery at
1.30pm.

"I was sitting down in the gallery when suddenly there was a loud thud," Chris told h&f news. "At first I thought it was just my external billboard that had been knocked over, but then I realised that a bus had hit the corner of the building. I had the shock of my life."

Chris said the bus crashed head-on into a concrete pillar at the corner of the shop, as well as damaging a residential fence.

"It was quite dramatic and if it had come through the window it would have been quite serious," he added. Chris, 37, who lives in Wimbledon, had installed the temporary gallery on the ground floor of Fulham Park House, at the corner of Fulham and Chesilton roads, for six weeks over the Christmas period, finishing on January 13.

The exhibition, entitled A Christmas Print Show, featured a collection of prints, original oil paintings and pen-and-ink drawings.

While the precious art escaped the brunt of the crash, the bus driver and three passengers were not so lucky and were taken to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital suffering minor injuries.

The art dealer said the attending emergency services seemed to believe a mechanical failure was responsible for the crash.

"Initially they thought it had been caused by ice on the road," Chris said. "But the driver said she went to overtake another bus, and when she went to turn back in, the steering wheel did not respond."

Go Ahead London, which runs the London General bus company responsible for the 424 route, said it was investigating the crash.

Commercial manager Colin Farrant said: "We are undertaking a full investigation, using CCTV footage and the on-bus monitoring system. This will be made available to the police and relevant authorities as required."

He added: "The driver is currently away from work but will form an important part of our investigation on their return."