A bus driver has been praised for her quick reflexes in swerving around an out-of-control car during a blizzard yesterday, preventing a potentially deadly three-vehicle pile-up.
Charmaine Laurie, 45, was driving a double-decker Lothian bus in Edinburgh, Scotland when a car veered onto the wrong side of the road straight in front of her.
WATCH THE HEARTSTOPPING MOMENT BELOW:
The mum-of-two, whose bus at the time carried 20 passengers, including schoolchildren, managed to drift around the car before correcting to avoid another driver parked metres away. What a hero.
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Charmaine told Edinburgh Evening News: "It happened quite quickly. It's hard to describe - my heart was in my mouth. I actually thought I was going to hit her."
The moment was captured on dashcam footage by van driver Gareth Smith, who can be heard shouting, 'Oh my god, no!' as the bus approaches the car and then his van.
After Charmaine - a bus driver for the past three years - successfully avoided the car, she was then miraculously able to avoid hitting Gareth by correcting the bus's course as its back end slid out.
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"I was stuck on the hill trying to get my van moving when I saw a black car over taking me," he said.
"It skidded onto the wrong side of the road and then I then saw a Lothian bus coming down the hill losing control and drifting past the black car, just missing it and me."
"It seemed to skid a far bit. I put my van into reverse and tried to go backwards to avoid the bus hitting me head on."
Gareth uploaded the video to Facebook yesterday, warning people to stay indoors due to the dangerous weather. Wise move, by the looks of it.
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The video has now gone viral, with viewers congratulating Charmaine for making sure no one was injured in the incident.
"Rumour has it the Stig was driving a bus in Edinburgh today. Looks like rumours are correct," one person said.
Another added: "That bus driver is something else with that drifting. Well done."
Despite her heroism, Charmaine sought to play down her role in the incident, putting her skills down to training.
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"We train for all types of conditions," she said. "You come across all different obstacles, public walking out in front of you - you have to be ready for whatever."
At the time of the incident Scotland was under a red weather warning due to snow, high winds and ice, meaning that widespread damage, travel disruption and risk to life was likely.
While the very worst of the weather is over, Britain is still being hit by a 'double strength' storm - stay safe out there.
Featured Image Credit: PA
Topics: Snow, UK News, News, Scotland