The girls were standing by the cashpoint outside Sainsbury’s in Trinity Street as the bus headed towards the store and only made a last-gasp dash to safety because a man yelled at them to run.
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Sources have told the Coventry Telegraph that at least two people have been killed, with multiple other injuries reported.
It is understood the second victim is a woman in her 70s, and a nine-year-old girl is seriously ill after travelling on the upper deck.
The elderly woman, from Nuneaton, Warks, who was hit by the bus as she walked by the supermarket, was also pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said the bus driver had now been discharged from hospital and was “being supported” by specialist officers.
The bus crashed into several cars and a lamppost before hitting the supermarket on what would have been a busy shopping day in the city centre.
West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) were called to the scene at 6pm this evening (Saturday, October 3) – assessing and discharging two people at the scene and sending six others to hospital.
“There is a cordon in place while an investigation has been launched to establish the circumstances surrounding the collision”.
He added that the crash had taken place on a straight stretch of road and there appeared to be no obvious reason why the bus “skidded out of control”.
Another man, who asked not to be named, said: “Bus drivers are always getting road rage with pedestrians at that zebra crossing”.
Shocked witnesses described scenes of “absolute chaos” as bystanders tried to rescue children trapped under the seats on the top deck after the bus slammed into the side of the supermarket.
Police Supt Paul Keasey said: “We hope to carry out a swift investigation and I would like to thank people who have already come forward who witnessed the collision”.
The 34-year-old charity worker, who saw the bus driver being lifted out of the vehicle, said: “I was in the self-service check-outs and everyone’s attention immediately went towards the exit doors”.
“It just missed me by one or two metres and after that it was absolute chaos, a terrifying scene”. We stood and looked at it but then we just got away from there.
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“Broken glass was everywhere and there were a lot of young people at the scene just struggling to process what had happened”.
