[geoff01]

A runaway bus without brakes was filmed hurtling through a city centre smashing into cars and causing pedestrians to run for their lives.

Witnesses reported seeing passengers jump from the bus as it ploughed through the busy streets, pushing several cars along at a time.

Nineteen cars were crushed by the end of the drama and four people left in hospital.

One commuter's brush with death is captured on camera in agonising detail.

At first he is pictured walking calmly across a busy street in front of several cars which appear to have stopped at lights.

But the man - dressed in a smart dark suit and with a briefcase - quickens his pace slightly as a large bus looms at the top of the picture.

Then, with the bus showing no signs of slowing down, he breaks into a panic-fuelled dash to the other side.

The speeding bus crashes into the line of cars and misses the pedestrian by inches, before continuing on at breakneck speed.

More video footage - filmed in the Russian city of Perm - shows a junction functioning peacefully with cars and trucks sharing the highway.