A MAN was appearing in court today charged with manslaughter over a bus crash in York in which a passenger was killed.

A 21-year-old local man was due to appear before York magistrates court in connection with the death of Mohamed Mahmoud Hussein Eltahtawy, aged 49.

Mr Eltahtawy died after a bus travelling from Ikon and Diva nightclub at Clifton Moor smashed into the partition wall of The Churchill Hotel in Bootham, and then struck the parapet of a nearby railway bridge, early last Friday.

York businessman Colin Cain, of Walmgate Removals and Storage, said Mr Eltahtawy had been staying at Hilton Lodge, his guesthouse in Wigginton Road, for the last two months.

He said Mr Eltahtawy, who is originally from Egypt, had an ex-wife, Vicky, and two children in Ripon, and family in Cairo.

He said there were plans to embalm his body and fly it to Cairo for his funeral.

He said: "His whole family is very shocked. He was a lovely guy.

"He had a lot of charisma. He was very easy-going and he will be sadly missed."

Mr Eltahtawy had lived in York for the last 18 years and had lived in Carnot Street, near Leeman Road, before moving to the guesthouse, he said.

"He really liked York. He was quite well-known in the city."

He said many people referred to him by the nickname Trevor McDonald, as he looked very similar to the ITV newsreader.

"He was always immaculately dressed. He was very clever and spoke fantastic English. He lived life to the full."

He said he first learned about the tragedy when the police found keys on his body, which they traced back to Hilton Lodge.

"It was horrendous. You don't expect things like that to happen," he said.

Mr Eltahtawy's ex-wife said: "My children are very sad - we are all very sad. We are going to miss him.

"The children are bearing up as well as can be expected. We were extremely shocked when we heard the news."

The couple met when Vicky was working as a teacher in Egypt. They were married for five years.

The crash happened at 1.50am on Friday. Staff from the Churchill Hotel, who were the first on the scene, said the victim had been trapped under masonry in the bus.

He was still breathing but died shortly afterwards with a passer-by holding his hand.

A further four people, including the driver, were injured and taken to York Hospital.

Bootham was closed to traffic and trains on the York to Scarborough line were delayed as emergency services worked to secure the area.

First York, which runs the bus from the Ikon and Diva clubs into the city, has decided to alter the service after the incident.

Updated: 10:49 Monday, April 19, 2004