A moment's inattention caused a bus driver to drift off the road and crash into a power pole in St Martins, police say.

Ten people were injured in the crash, in Centaurus Rd, at 1.36pm yesterday. The impact snapped the power pole and damaged powerlines.

Acting Senior Sergeant Scott Richardson, of the strategic traffic unit, said police interviewed the Orbiter driver and looked at bus video footage today.

"He's come around a bend and, due to a moment of inattention, drifted off the road," he said.

"Next thing, bang."

Charges were a possibility but it was still early in the investigation.

Alcohol and drugs had been ruled out.

A passenger in his 70s was flung down the aisle of the bus on impact and suffered a cracked sternum, Richardson said.

A Christchurch Hospital spokeswoman said today the elderly man was in a comfortable condition.

Two other passengers were admitted to hospital after the crash but were discharged last night.

Leopard Coachlines, which operates the Orbiter, said there was "no obvious reason" why the experienced driver crashed.

Spokesman Garth Bardsley said: "The bus driver is very experienced and has a clean accident record."

The driver was "very upset" by the accident, Bardsley said.

"He's feeling pretty awful. He was really concerned about his passengers and didn't sleep very well last night. He will be having a few days off."

This was the "last thing" the bus company wanted to happen, Bardsley said.

"We send out 91 buses every morning and the last thing we want is anyone to be injured. We travel eight million kilometres every year and this is not a common occurrence,'' he said.

"At the moment all we can do is deal with the people who have been hurt and our driver. They are our concern."

 

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