The bus mounted the unpaved verge on the outside of the bend, crashed through roadside hedgerows and subsequently came to rest on its side in an adjacent grass field.

[6] At the time of the incident, the bus was operating on the Stagecoach Gold service from Torquay to Plymouth, and it had just departed the town of Paignton with a full and standing load of passengers.

[7] While Allan was distracted by attempts to retrieve these items, the bus left the road at a sharp left-hand bend in an area of open country.

[7] After mounting the grass verge and crashing through a hedgerow along the outside of the bend, the bus fell 5 ft (1.5 m) down an embankment,[8] coming to rest on its side in a grassy field close to the road.

[2][10] More than 140 emergency services personnel attended the scene at the peak of the major incident, including firefighters who cut into the roof of the overturned bus to rescue passengers trapped inside the top deck.

The accident occurred on a Saturday, and at several hospitals operated by the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, dozens of staff members were called in to work on their days off as a result of the major incident declaration.

[1] A spokesperson for bus company Stagecoach South West confirmed that they were assisting the emergency services with their inquiries and that their thoughts were with the victims of the crash.

[7] Allan admitted to losing control of the vehicle while dealing with the distraction of attempting to retrieve his jacket, which was flapping from the opened cab window of the bus.

[14] In August 2020, following an internal investigation, Devon County Council installed reflective plastic bollards along the outside of the bend at which the bus crash occurred, which at the time had been an unprotected soft grass verge.

The council defended the bollard installation, stating that they adequately highlighted a gap in the hedgerow which had not yet regrown following the bus crash as well as the steep drop down into the adjacent field.