Tributes to coach crash teacher

Feb 20 2012

Tributes have been paid to a "wonderful" teacher killed when a coach carrying schoolchildren home from a ski trip crashed in northern France.

Peter Rippington, 59, died and dozens of others were injured when the bus flipped over and came to rest at the bottom of an embankment near the city of Reims in the Champagne-Ardenne region in the early hours of Sunday.

Initial tests on the coach driver, who received minor injuries, showed he was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and local police are believed to be investigating whether he might have fallen asleep at the wheel. Police in France said the driver was currently being questioned by police in Chalons-en-Champagne.

Mr Rippington's wife Sharon and daughter Amy were also injured in the crash, which involved 29 pupils from Alvechurch Middle School in Worcestershire. Four people were being treated for serious injuries. According to the BBC, 10 people remain in hospital.

It is not known how many of the seriously injured were children, but hundreds of messages of support have been left on Twitter for a schoolgirl named Suzie who was said to be in a coma.

A statement from the Rippington family said: "We, as a family, are devastated at the tragic loss of Peter, a wonderful husband, father, son, brother, son-in-law, brother-in-law, uncle, friend and teacher. We are still extremely concerned about the health of his wife, Sharon, who was injured and is still recovering in hospital in France. Sharon is accompanied by her daughter Amy, who escaped the incident with minor injuries."

Flowers were left outside the school where children will be offered counselling, while pupils left an apple with a tribute attached. It read: "Dear Mr Rip, you will be truly missed. You were a one of a kind teacher and you can never be replaced. You were funny and kind and always made everyone's day. We will love and miss you forever and always."

Interski Snowsport School, the company that arranged the trip, said there were 21 adults on the coach when it crashed on the A26 at Chalons-en-Champagne. There were two drivers on board, along with six Interski instructors and 13 adults belonging to the school party. A total of 27 people were taken to two local hospitals following the crash, with 22 of those said to have minor injuries.

The bus was owned by Solus Coaches, which is based in Tamworth, Staffordshire, and was chartered by the ski company.

The Foreign Office is investigating the accident and is providing consular assistance to those affected while the British ambassador to France, Sir Peter Ricketts, met passengers.