A COACH passenger who was on an Oxford Tube double-decker bus which overturned on an M40 slip road has told of his “miracle” escape.

Seventeen people were treated at hospital after the coach travelling from London crashed into a barrier on the slip road shortly before 11pm on Saturday.

Police last night were investigating why the driver left the motorway at junction seven, near Thame, instead of taking the usual route and heading into the city from junction eight.

Five people were set to undergo surgery at the John Radcliffe Hospital last night, including one who had a “limb-threatening arm injury”.

Among the passengers was Brother Lawrence Lew, a Dominican Friar at Blackfriars College in St Giles.

He said: “Looking at the pictures of the coach now, it is an absolute miracle I walked away without a scratch.

“On the top deck of the bus, on the left hand side, there is only one pane of glass surviving. And I was leaning against that window.”

The coach had left Victoria bus station in London at 9.35pm with 33 passengers and the driver on board.

Firefighter group manager John Nixon described the scene which greeted emergency services.

He said: “When we turned up there were a large number of casualties lying on the side of the road and a number still trapped in the coach.

“A female passenger was trapped by her arm at the rear of the coach. We secured the vehicle with winches and a crew went into the coach and using, hydraulic cutting gear, were able to release the woman.

“It was obviously very difficult to gain access to her and the operation was very complex, she had received very serious arm injuries.

“It was about an hour-and-a-half before we were able to release her.

“Another passenger, a man, was thrown through the side window as a result of the crash. We found him about 20 yards clear of the bus. He had sustained severe back injuries.

“After all the passengers had been moved from the scene, my concern was someone may well have been trapped under the coach. We were able to lift the coach using a crane and winches and thankfully nobody was trapped underneath.”

Brother Lew said: “We got on to that slip road, and I could feel the momentum of the bus going over. Then in one split second, there was a bang and absolute silence.

“It was a stunned silence, before I heard a woman start to sob and then another calling for help.”

He and the other passengers who could move made their way out through the front window of the coach.

He said: “The driver was wandering around looking very dazed. I really felt for him, because he was upset he would lose his job now.”

Coach operators Stagecoach last night could not confirm why the coach was leaving at junction seven, which is not on its normal route.

It is the second time an Oxford Tube coach has overturned in recent months, after an accident on August 30.

Thomas Roby, 21, from Cavell Road, Oxford, will appear at Wycombe and Beaconsfield Magistrates Court on Thursday, charged with causing danger to road users by interfering with a motor vehicle.

An Oxford Tube spokesman said: “We have operated Oxford Tube since 1987 and we have never had an incident of this particular nature before.

“The incident earlier this year involved a unique set of circumstances where a passenger is alleged to have grabbed the steering wheel.”

She added: “We will be carrying out our own internal investigation and assisting the police in any way that we can with their inquiries into the accident.”

Ambulances took 12 people to hospital, including the driver. Five other passengers later went to hospital to get treatment.

The slip road at junction seven and one lane of the M40 was closed all day yesterday while investigations continued and the coach was removed.

Witnesses are asked to call police on 08458 505505.