Olympic gold medallist among those injured in Swansea bus crash

13 December 2019, 17:17

The bus crashed into a railway bridge on Thursday
The bus crashed into a railway bridge on Thursday. Picture: @krsty23

By Megan White

An Olympic gold medallist was left with two broken ribs and a head injury after a double-decker bus crashed into a railway bridge.

American Kevin Young, who remains the 400m hurdles world record holder after his victory in the 1992 Games in Barcelona, was among eight injured in the smash in Swansea on Thursday.

The 53-year-old posted pictures of his injuries on Twitter hours after the incident in Neath Road, which happened just before 9.40am.

He captioned his images: "Tough day trying to get to class, 2 broken ribs and head trauma.”

One woman suffered life-threatening injuries in the crash and was airlifted to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, where she remains in a critical condition.

Two other people were seriously hurt but have since been discharged.

Five people were taken to Swansea's Morriston Hospital - one with serious head injuries and another with serious chest and facial injuries, while three men suffered less serious fracture injuries.

All five are in a stable condition, the Swansea Bay University Health Board said.

Mr Young, whose time of 46.78s at the 1992 Olympics has still not been beaten, is currently studying for a Masters degree in sports ethics and integrity at Swansea University.

His course is part of the EU's Erasmus Mundus scheme, in which he and seven other Olympians are learning about illegal betting, child protection and anti-doping at five partner universities across Europe.

A 63-year-old man was arrested and released under investigation after the crash, and the bus company, First Cymru, said a full investigation has been launched.