The Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has heard how an out of service bus driven by 51-year-old Kenneth Henvey mounted a kerb and plunged into a crowd of around 30 people in 2004.
Mr Henvey stands accused of dangerous driving causing the deaths of Kevin Garry, Kathleen Gilton, Margaret Traynor, Vasyl Tyminskyy and Teresa Keatley at a bus stop at Wellington Quay on 21 February 2004.
Mr Henvey from Palmerstown in Dublin today pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Prosecuting counsel, Tom O'Connell, told the jury this afternoon, that in interviews with gardaí, Mr Henvey said he went to pull out to the right and put his foot on the accelerator.
Then he said, it was a like a hurricane hit on the right and the bus shot straight to the left. He said he did not remember the bus hitting anyone but he remembered feeling some bumps.
For a split second, he said, the bus seemed to go out of control.
Mr Henvey denied a suggestion from gardaí that he had started to pull out not realising the number 66 bus had pulled in ahead of him and he had had to take evasive action to avoid the other bus.
He told them this was definitely not the case.
Mr O'Connell said eyewitnesses had reported the bus was coming towards them 'very fast'.
He said it was the prosecution case that Mr Henvey had his foot on the accelerator, for whatever reason, probably human error.
The jury was told that tests carried out on the bus showed it had no mechanical or electrical faults.
Earlier the court heard that the out of service bus driven by Mr Henvey mounted the kerb and destroyed a post box, a bin and a bus stop before driving into a crowd of around 30 people waiting to board the number 66 bus to Maynooth.
The prosecution claims that Mr Henvey drove the bus negligently and carelessly with horrific consequences.
The trial is expected to hear from around 60 witnesses and may last for two weeks.
