A coach driver from Driffield has been awarded a medal by the French government for his actions which saved the lives of all 39 of his passengers following an accident near Disneyland, Paris, the Beverley Guardian has reported.
Terry Simcox, 57, was driving a National Holidays coach when he was involved in a pile-up on the busy A1 autoroute after a lorry swerved into him.
Terry had got every single passenger off the vehicle, including 17 children, before the coach burst into flames minutes later.
“How I escaped I don’t know,” said Terry, a grandfather-of-five. He said: “The whole windscreen came in on top of me and all I got was a few cuts on my head. There was nothing left of the front of my coach. How my chair was still there I do not know.”
Terry returned to France last month to receive a gold medal and certificate at a ceremony in the city of Beauvais, north of Paris. The ceremony was attended by the region’s chiefs of police and fire service and a representative from the French government, among other dignitaries, who praised Terry as a hero and a life-saver.
The French newspaper La Parisien reported how Terry used a hammer to break windows to free passengers – before going back on board the coach to make sure everyone was off.
It stated: “He kept his composure. With this self-control, coupled with a good dose of bravery, Terrence Simcox has saved lives. Many lives.”
The lorry which collided with his coach was carrying whisky which set the vehicles ablaze. Terry, who has been driving coaches for 17 years, said his actions came from a combination of his training and adrenaline, though he added that it had taken him a long time to get over the crash – which happened on Friday, February 13 and left two lorry drivers dead.
He said: “I managed to get everybody off, but what upset me was that I couldn’t get the two wagon drivers out. They were Romanians apparently. It’s taken me ages to be able to talk about this, but I’ve gotten over it now.”
