TWO York teenagers today relived the horrifying moment they were flung through the air "like rag dolls" in a fatal bus crash.

Speaking for the first time about the accident, in Bootham last month, they revealed how they miraculously survived the tragedy because - just minutes beforehand - they had moved from the front to the back of the bus.

"It must have been fate," said Tom Hartley, 18, from Westfield Place, who suffered a fractured foot and severe bruising of his head when he was slammed into a hand pole on impact.

Tom and his friend Simon Wadsworth, 17, said their hearts went out to the family of Mohamed Eltahtawy, who died when the bus smashed into the wall of The Churchill Hotel, in Bootham, before striking the parapet of a railway bridge, on April 16.

Simon, from Tedder Road, Acomb, was thrown over four rows of seats and was temporarily knocked unconscious.

The two friends escaped from the vehicle's emergency exit and initially panicked and fled the scene. Tom was carried by Simon to Clifton Bridge, where they phoned his mother who took them to York Hospital. The police then took their statements.

"I regret leaving the scene, but we just panicked and didn't know what we were doing," said Tom, who boarded the bus after a night out at Ikon Diva nightclub. "It all happened so quickly. The impact was terrible. I flew forward and cracked my head on a pole.

"I was screaming for Simon because I couldn't see him at first. He was trapped under a seat about four rows up and I helped him up. The front of the bus looked like it had caved in and there was glass and rubble everywhere."

Tom, a computer programmer, said he had suffered sleepless nights since the ordeal and broke out in a cold sweat when he recently got on a bus.

He said he was haunted by the image of Mr Eltahtawy "lying face down with debris all over him".

"I've got a picture of him in my head constantly," he said.

"I'll never forget what happened for the rest of my life. I can't believe we're still alive."

Both teenagers plan to have counselling to help them cope with the tragedy.

"It was a nightmare," added Simon, who plays professional Rugby League for Hull FC.

"I keep getting flashbacks and dreaming about it. It's all a blur."

James Christopher Glenton, 21, of Rowntree Avenue, Clifton, York, has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the incident. He will next appear before a High Court judge at Leeds Crown Court on June 28.

Updated: 10:26 Wednesday, May 05, 2004