Alps crash hero’s mum still waiting for answers

Coach driver Maurice gave his life to save 50 passengers.

A mother whose son died a hero in an Alps coach crash has spoken of her family’s agony because they don’t know what caused the accident.

Selfless Maurice Wrightson gave his life to save 50 young British passengers by steering the coach he was driving into a cliff face to avoid it plummeting down a ravine.

The 63-year-old who worked for Durham-based Classic Coaches perished as his passengers escaped following the horrific crash near the French ski resort of Alpe D’Huez.

But five months on, Maurice’s heartbroken mother Hannah Crackett admitted her family is still searching for answers.

She said: “We are still waiting for any news. The French have said they have not got their enquiries done and we have still not heard anything about the results of the autopsy.

“I can’t even get his business sorted out.”

Bachelor Maurice shouted to his passengers and co-driver there was a problem with the brakes as the coach bringing resort employees back to the UK careered down the steep, twisting alpine road.

Four passengers were seriously injured, including a 19-year-old girl with serious burns. Many flung themselves out of windows as the coach exploded in a fireball.

But the survivors praised the coach driver’s bravery and said the toll could have been much worse if it hadn’t been for his quick thinking.

French transport minister Frederic Cuvillier confirmed passengers would have died but for Maurice’s “remarkable courage”.

French police announced in May they were trying to establish if safety checks had been carried out on the bus. But Sunderland-based Arriva, parent company of Classic Coaches, said the coach had an up-to-date MOT certificate and had been

subject to a standard maintenance programme.

Arriva communications manager Joanne Kerrigan said the vehicle was still in the hands of the French authorities.

She added: “Our investigations cannot be completed until the French authorities have concluded theirs and the bus is returned to us.”

Meanwhile, Maurice’s family have employed a solicitor to help find out how the tragedy happened.

Speaking from her home in Ashington, 86-year-old Hannah said: “We have heard nothing from the French and we have only had one call from the Foreign Office when he died.

“I have still not come to terms with it.”

Paying tribute to her son, she added: “Maurice was a kind lad to everybody he met.”

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We provided consular support to his family at the time, and can be contacted for further enquiries.”