A DRIVER has described the scenes of horror after a stolen ambulance crashed into a double-decker bus carrying 16 people and a car, killing a man and injuring six others.

Sarah Myers, who had to take evasive action to avoid the incident at Flaxton, on the A64 north of York at 8.30pm on Friday, said the private ambulance "disintegrated" and the bus came to rest "up a tree".

Traffic sergeant Ian Pope, who is leading the investigation into the incident at Flaxton, said officers had been hunting for the ambulance, which was reported stolen 20 minutes before hitting the 843 Coastliner Scarborough to York bus and a black Toyota Yaris.

He said the ambulance had been heading away from York and had not been driven by a paramedic or member of the emergency medical services firm's staff, but declined to say which company the vehicle belonged to and where it had been stolen from.

Police have not released details of the driver of the ambulance, who was alone in the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene, but are understood to be examining whether he had been speeding before the collision.

The bus driver, who sustained serious leg injuries remains in hospital, while five of the passengers were treated in hospital for minor injuries.

Ms Myers, who had been driving behind the bus, said she had to brake hard to avoid both the ambulance and the bus, before seeing a powerful impact as the Toyota hit the ambulance.

She said: "There was people smashing the windows of the bus, jumping off the top deck.

"The driver were trapped, he couldn't get off."

Yormed private ambulance service, based in York, said the stolen vehicle did not belong to the company.

The trunk road, which was closed for about ten hours following the crash, has been the focus of mounting concerns over speeding in recent years, with drivers being clocked at speeds of up to 147mph by police.

A Coastliner spokesperson said on twitter: "Our thoughts go out to everyone involved, including our driver and his family.

"We're doing all we can to help the Police in their enquiries."

Anyone who saw the vehicles on the A64 should call police on 101, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800-555-111.