The minibus was transporting 14 children home to Worcestershire from a school trip to the Royal Albert Hall in London when it veered into the rear of the motorway maintenance lorry which was stationary on the hard shoulder.
[1] On their return journey, shortly after midnight, the minibus Fry was driving struck a 12.5-long-ton (12.7 t) Bedford motorway maintenance truck parked on the hard shoulder of an unlit stretch of the M40 near junction 15 in Warwickshire.
The minibus, which was estimated to be travelling at 73–84 miles per hour (117–135 km/h) at the time of the collision, exploded shortly after the crash and the bodies of several victims remained trapped in the wreckage.
[3] A Warwickshire Fire Brigade public relations officer said that the driver of the second minibus had "saved those children from witnessing the worst accident any of us has ever seen.
The news media were managed by the authorities, with journalists corralled off from the school, in exchange for being provided with human interest information for their stories.
Most national newspapers carried a photograph of two grieving schoolgirls, who were clearly identifiable from the picture; readers complained in writing that they considered this to be insensitive and an invasion of the girls' privacy.
The stained-glass window, on the school's stairway, measures 14 by 3 feet (4.27 m × 0.91 m) and includes an inscription listing the victims and a musical score and instruments.
[9] After the crash a bus safety training package called Belt Up School Kids (BUSK) for pupils and teachers was established.