Passenger who died on night bus was left slumped in his seat over-night after the driver 'forgot' about him

A passenger who died on the top deck of a night bus was left slumped in his seat overnight after the driver 'forgot about him', an inquest heard.

Pawel Modzelewski, 25, got on the No.36 bus at Queen's Park, West London at 12.29am and CCTV footage showed him slumped over in his seat 12 minutes later.

The driver claimed he thought the Pole was asleep and attempted to rouse him, but when he took the bus back to the depot at 1.30am he 'forgot' about him and went home for the night.



Pawel Modzelewski died on a night bus and remained there until found by a fellow passenger the next day

Early morning commuters joined the double-decker, unaware Mr Modzelewski was dead.



Mr Modzelewski remained on the bus until an early morning passenger finally raised the alarm, Southwark Coroner's Court heard.

Disciplinary action is now being taken against the staff of the London Central Bus Company over the incident.



Paul Bailey, accident prevention manager for London Central Bus Company, told the hearing the driver thought Mr Modzelewski was asleep and tried to rouse him at New Cross Gate bus garage.

'But there was no response. He drove the bus into the garage to be refuelled and cleaned by contractors,' Mr Bailey said.



'He forgot to tell anyone about the man. The cleaners didn't clean the bus and on finishing his duty, the driver went home.'

Mr Bailey said engineers intended to check the bus before it was used again, but neglected to check upstairs.



In a statement, bus passenger Morlaye Keppy-Camara said he flagged down a double-decker at 7am the following morning in Brockley.



'I got on the bus and went upstairs. I walked towards the back of the bus. As I did so I passed a white male,' he said.



'He was slumped forwards in his seat and not moving.'



The Pole was left slumped on the top deck of the bus over-night

Mr Keppy-Camara said he went to the back of the bus but became more and more concerned and decided to try to rouse him.



It was then he noticed vomit on Mr Modzelewski's clothes and spoke to the driver.



Police arrived at 7.11am and discovered an empty syringe in Mr Modzelewski's right hand and a small wrap of what appeared to be heroin.



A post mortem revealed the Polish man had overdosed on the drug.



Coroner Dr Andrew Harris said the cause of death was an overdose of drink and drugs - but he said there were 'missed opportunities' to help save Mr Modzelewski's life.



Recording a narrative verdict, he said: 'Mr Modzelewski was found cold and dead holding an empty needle.



'On the balance of probabilities, he died self-administering a drug, yet he was not found until six and a half hours later.



'We have heard no evidence as to whether the delay in finding the deceased would have made any difference to his outcome.'



Mr Harris added he would be compiling a report for the bus company and Mr Modzelewski's family - setting out recommendations to prevent a similar incident.



Mr Modzelewski, of no fixed address, was represented by his uncle Eligiusz, who is also living in the UK.



He told the court: 'If my nephew had had help earlier, maybe things would have been different.'

