Bus driver jailed over boy's traffic lights death

A bus driver who killed a teenage boy while trying to run a red light has been jailed for two and a half years.

Paul Manu, 63, ran over 16-year-old Mario Radulescu on Mandeville Road in Northolt, west London, on 17 December 2021.

Mario, originally from Romania, was a student at St Dominic's Sixth Form College in Harrow-on-the-Hill.

At the Old Bailey last month, Manu admitted causing the death of Mario by dangerous driving.

Sentencing the bus driver at the same court, Judge Rebecca Trowler KC said Manu had been on his way back to the depot to take a break when he ran over the teenager.

Manu, of Lea Crescent in Ruislip, approached the traffic lights as they turned amber but he began to accelerate, the court heard. The bus then struck Mario, who became trapped underneath it.

"In short, you failed to stop as the light turned red," Judge Trowler said. "Indeed, you accelerated when the lights turned amber. You were, in substance, running the lights."

She said she accepted that Manu felt genuine remorse for his actions.

In a statement read out to the court, Manu apologised to Mario's family, who sat nearby.

"I would like to apologise for the terrible accident that happened," he said. "I never thought that I would be in this situation in my life. I hope for your forgiveness, even though I don't deserve it."

He said he could not close his eyes without thinking about that night.

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