Three people seriously hurt after a rickshaw and bus collide in central London

The owner of a rickshaw that was involved in a crash with a bus early this morning has said the vehicle was taken while he was away getting something to eat.

A rider and two passengers were left critically injured after a bus hit them in central London in the early hours of Monday morning.

One of the three victims were rushed to a major trauma centre for treatment after the incident, which took place on Charing Cross Road.

The other two were taken to local hospitals, a spokesperson for London Ambulance Service said.

Speaking at the scene, the owner of the rickshaw told Metro: ‘I went to get something to eat and when I returned it was gone. I started looking and found the crash.

‘I am devastated my bike is ruined but it’s not about that I just want the people to recover.

‘My thoughts and prayers are with them. It looked very bad.’

The 54-year-old, who did not want to be identified, said the damage to the bike showed the victims in the crash had been thrown out of the seats.

Another West End rickshaw driver said: ‘Us rickshaw drivers are very upset by what has happened. We just want to give a fun safe ride and service for people.’

A section of the busy street, which leads towards Trafalgar Square and past several West End theatres, was closed until around 9am.

Pictures from the scene show an area cordoned off outside the Phoenix Theatre, a short distance south from Tottenham Court Road station.

The rickshaw, decorated with lights and pink feathers and worth more than £2,500, lay on one side next to the N19 bus to Clapham Junction, which had a damaged front.

Debris was left strewn across the road, including a trainer.

Witness Tomasz Masierak, 31, Poland, described the carnage after the crash.

He said: ‘I was walking around one o’clock in the morning and saw people lying on the floor.

‘The ambulance crews were working on them, and it looked like a really serious incident — there was blood and everything. I believe two of the people were English.

‘It was horrible to see. The paramedics kept working on them for a long time. It was really not good, and very sad.’

Rickshaws decorated with bright lights and blasting pop music are a regular sight in the centre of the capital, providing an unusual transport option for tourists visiting Theatreland.

Formally known as ‘pedicabs’, the vehicles are largely unregulated but new rules and standards were introduced in a law passed in Parliament last year.

A police statement said: ‘Around 1.10am on Monday August 25, officers attended the junction of Charing Cross Road and Phoenix Street, Charing Cross, alongside the London Ambulance Service, following reports of a collision between a rickshaw and a bus.

‘Three men were treated at the scene for injuries, and were taken to hospital. One man’s injuries were found to be minor, and he was subsequently discharged.

‘The two other victims – aged 23 and 25 – remain in hospital with injuries believed to be serious. We await an update on their condition.’

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: ‘We were called at 1.07am today (25 August) to reports of a road traffic collision at the junction of Charing Cross Road and Phoenix Street.

‘We sent resources to the scene, including ambulance crews, an advanced paramedic, a paramedic in a fast response car and an incident response officer. We also dispatched a trauma team in a car from London’s Air Ambulance.

‘We treated three people. We took one patient to a major trauma centre and two patients to local hospitals.’

Inquiries are being led by specialist officers from the Met’s Alperton Traffic Garage and Forensic Collision Investigation Unit.

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