Death of boy hit by bus an accident, inquest finds

The brother of a four-year-old boy involved in a fatal collision with a bus at a Kent hospital screamed for the vehicle to stop as his younger sibling ran towards it, an inquest has heard.

Zaahir Jan died when he was struck outside the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate on 7 August, 2025.

The bus driver said in a witness statement that, after pulling away from a pedestrian crossing, she heard "a young voice screaming 'stop'". She then "felt a bump with the bus" and believed she had "run something over".

Declaring the death an accident, area coroner for Kent and Medway, Sarah Clarke, found no evidence the driver had been impaired, distracted or could have avoided the collision.

The court heard the four-year-old was visiting the hospital with members of his family when he ran out of the building's main entrance.

His older brother followed him but was unable to catch him.

The court heard that Zaahir was in the driver's nearside blind spot and could not be seen.

The Stagecoach driver, whose identity has not been revealed, said when she felt the bump she applied the handbrake.

"I looked in my nearside mirror and I could see something sticking out from under the bus, about halfway down," she said.

The driver told the court when she got out of the bus she saw "a very small dark-haired figure that wasn't moving… facing down into the road."

She added that an elderly gentleman for whom she had waited to use the pedestrian crossing moments before the incident told her there was "no way" she could have seen the child.

Det Con Victoria Steward, from Kent Police, told the court Zaahir had run from the hospital exit and on to the road without stopping.

She told the hearing that another witness told her they had seen the front wheel of the bus going over the boy.

She said the bus was travelling at 5mph (8 km/h) at the point of impact.

The hearing was told that Zaahir died from multiple internal injuries.

The court heard the Stagecoach driver was tested for drugs and alcohol and was fit to drive. The police investigation concluded she was not to blame for the boy's death.

The coroner said Zaahir was "clearly a much-loved little boy".

Clarke said she wanted to acknowledge the "profound loss" the family had suffered, and extend her "personal sincere condolences to all of Zaahir's family".

The driver had asked the coroner for her identity to be protected after concerns about negative repercussions on her and her family were raised by police.

The hearing was told the hospital trust had made changes following Zaahir's death, including to the layout of road markings.

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