Three people died after a mother failed to negotiate a bend on the A61 near South Stainley and crashed into a bus, an inquest heard.

A full inquest into the deaths of Daria Bartienieva, 35, her stepdaughter, Anastasiia Bartienieva, 15, and her six-year-old son, Ihor Bartieniev, was held at Northallerton Coroner’s Court today (August 26).

The family, all of whom were born in Ukraine but lived in Ripon at the time, was killed in the collision on September 3, 2023.

A named bus driver, who was driving the 36 service from Harrogate to Ripon that afternoon, prepared a statement ahead of the hearing.

The court heard the man passed his bus driving test in January 2023 and was assigned the 36 route in May that year. 

The service travels between Leeds, Harrogate and Ripon.

The bus driver, who described himself as a "careful and competent driver" was travelling along the A61 towards Ripon that day and, just after 2pm, approached a bend near South Stainley.

As the bus driver approached the bend, he said a silver Vauxhall – driven by Daria – “came towards me and drove straight into the front of the bus”.

“My boss later told me I hit the brakes… but it all happened in a matter of seconds”, he said.

The bus driver, who said he was "concerned about his passengers", suffered leg injuries and was taken to hospital. 

Multiple people travelling on the double-decker bus at the time also prepared statements ahead of the inquest.

One man, who was sitting at the front of the top deck, said he saw Daria’s car “coming towards us” and crash into the front of the bus.

The man said the bus driver “did well to keep the bus on the road”.

Another passenger, a woman who was travelling back to Ripon with her mum, said the silver Vauxhall was “more in our lane than on her side” at the time. 

“I said ‘oh, my god, they are on the wrong side of the road'”, the woman said, adding the impact of the crash was “deafening”.  She added:

‘The car hit the bus head-on’

A statement prepared by a named woman was read to the court by Mr Heath.

The woman, who was driving a Toyota along the A61 between Ripon and Harrogate, was travelling behind Daria's silver Vauxhall on the day of the collision.

The woman could tell the driver of the Vauxhall was a new driver as the car had ‘P’ plates on it. 

She said she then saw the Vauxhall veer towards the other side of the road and collide with bus.

Her statement added:

The woman tried to veer away from the collision, but the Vauxhall spun away from the bus due to impact of the crash and made contact with her Toyota.

The woman added:

No problems with car identified, court hears

A relative of the victims, whose statement was also read to the court, said the family moved to the UK from Ukraine in June 2022.

The court heard Daria, who had a driving licence in Ukraine, bought a car in Leeds in August 2022.

Daria had been driving in the UK for about a year at the time of the crash, the witness said, adding Daria “would never use her phone” when driving.

She was also insistent her children always wore seatbelts.

The witness added Daria used the road regularly and was "familiar" with it by the time of the collision. 

A traffic sergeant from North Yorkshire Police’s forensic collision investigations team, who was the only witness to give live evidence during the hearing, arrived at the scene of the crash at around 3.25pm.

The sergeant, who examined the collision, said the weather was "fine" and the roads were dry.

He said visibility was good and his colleagues told him the weather conditions were similar before he arrived.

“We did find there was bright sunlight at the time of the crash”, the sergeant added.

The court heard the damage to Daria’s car, which was registered in 2010 and had a valid MOT, was "extensive". 

However, the traffic sergeant told the court Daria and Anastasiia were both wearing seatbelts at the time, and Ihor was secured in a car seat that was “suitable for his age and height”.

The coroner asked the traffic sergeant if there were any defects that could have led Daria's car to crash. The traffic sergeant responded:

Giving his opinion, the traffic sergeant said Daria approached a bend near South Stainley at around 2.20pm, when she “failed to negotiate a shallow left bend” and collided with the bus. 

Daria, Anastasiia and Ihor all suffered fatal injuries, whilst five people on the bus – including the driver – were injured. 

The traffic sergeant said he does not know why the Daria crashed into the bus, but felt sunlight was a “consideration”:

Conclusion

Mr Heath said all three family members died as a result of the collision, and their causes of death were attributed to multiple injuries due to blunt force trauma.

They were all certified dead at the scene, Daria at around 3pm and Anastasiia and Ihor at 3.01pm.

The coroner said the bus driver had been travelling at an “appropriate speed” and in an “appropriate manner” at the time.

Mr Heath also said Daria failed to negotiate the bend and crashed into the bus, but added "distraction in the car and sunlight are a consideration”.

He said the reason Daria went into the other lane was “unclear and unknown”.

The speed limit, which was previously 60mph, has since been reduced to 50mph on the stretch of road following a campaign by South Stainley residents. 

North Yorkshire Council approved the speed limit reduction last November and erected 50mph signs in April between Ripon and Ripley. 

The only exception is Wormald Green, where the speed limit is already 40mph. 

The triple death was one of a string of fatal collisions along the road. 

The Stray Ferret has covered concerns over road safety on the A61 extensively over the years. You can find some of our coverage here and here.