A driver may have hit the accelerator instead of the brake when a pedestrian was trapped between two electric buses and killed, it has emerged.

Melissa Burr, 32, from Rainham, died after being hit by a red single-decker as she crossed the road during rush hour outside Victoria station earlier this year.

She was crushed between two buses on the 507 route that have been solely electric since 2016. Experts said the quicker acceleration of these vehicles and layout of the bus depot could also have been a factor in the crash.

Two other injured pedestrians were rushed to hospital and another person was treated at the scene by paramedics after the accident on August 10 at around 8.25am.

Ms Burr was pronounced dead at the scene.

She is thought to have walked between two single deckers outside Victoria when the rear vehicle leapt forward and smashed into the back of another bus in front.

A Transport for London’s committee meeting was told the driver could have confused the brake with the accelerator - causing the bus to jump forward.

"Pedal confusion was just one element, alleged pedal confusion. There were other human factors involved in this..."

A safety, sustainability and human resources panel meeting hearing last Thursday (December 2) heard the speed of electric buses as they move off is also a potential cause of the tragic accident.

Louise Cheeseman, TfL’s director of bus operations, said "alleged pedal confusion" was one of a series of factors currently being investigated.

She told the committee: "So this [accident] was the first week of my joining TfL, it is absolutely tragic.

"Pedal confusion was just one element, alleged pedal confusion. There were other human factors involved in this.

"We are also investigating the layout of the bus depot as well and we are doing a thorough investigation into whether there are any improvements that could be made in the future."

CCTV cameras also record bus driver's feet so their use of the pedals can be analysed when these kinds of allegations are made.

Ms Cheeseman added: "In terms of pedal confusion, an incredible amount of work has been done by the team...and we are doing research on it.

"Obviously if the funding situation [for TfL] improves we are looking at introducing a lot more zero emissions buses, which gives us an opportunity to look at the layout of the pedals.

"We've also got pedal CCTV cameras in the cabs now so we can actually look at the drivers feet and where there is an allegation of pedal confusion we can absolutely download the CCTV and review that as well.

"We are also working closely with Unite who are obviously concerned about the subject as well."

Tom Cunnington, head of TfL bus business development, said this was a long-standing problem and that electric buses accelerate quicker than diesels so when there is an incident of "pedal confusion" the driver has time to react.

Mr Cunnington told the committee via videolink: "It's an issue that's been ongoing for a number of years, it's not a new thing.

"But I think with electric propulsion, whether it's hybrids or pure electric vehicles, it's actually potentially more damaging when it [pedal confusion] does happen because the power of an electric bus - as you saw at Victoria - and its acceleration is much greater and it possibly gives the driver less time to respond to it."

Mr Cunnington added that the layout of the pedals may need to be changed if London has more electric vehicles in the future.

He said: "We don't understand the root cause of this, we think it's a series of complicated things - distraction for the driver potentially beforehand and actually how the bus responds to the driver and what the driver's doing and whether he has time to respond to it.

"So whether it's autonomous or advanced braking in the future, which will certainly help this, or if it's around pedal layout or other things that we can do to the way the pedals feel to the driver are all areas that we are looking at closely.

"We're doing research into it right now. We're hoping to get the results in the next month or two to be able to work out what are the best ways to go forward because the bus safety programme is very focused on evidence and we're trying to find as much evidence as we can here to support whatever mitigations we believe should go into place here.

"Clearly a really tragic accident and deep condolences to Melissa's family and the team are very focused on finding solutions to this in what is a very complex series of mechanical and human factors involved in all incidents of pedal confusion."

Ms Burr's family said in the aftermath of her death she was a "kind and thoughtful soul".

In a statement they said: "We are absolutely devastated by loss and the hole that this incident has left in our lives.

"Melissa was a kind and thoughtful soul, had a quirky charm with such a bright future ahead of her.

"As a family we naturally want to understand how such a tragedy occurred, but for now we just want time and space to mourn our beautiful Melissa and send her to rest with her late father."

"Melissa was a kind and thoughtful soul, had a quirky charm with such a bright future ahead of her.

The Health and Safety Executive has also been visiting the station as part of the investigation.

In a statement after the hearing, Ms Cheeseman added: "We are extremely saddened that Melissa Burr tragically died after a collision with a bus and our thoughts remain with her family and friends.

"We are currently assisting the Health and Safety Executive with their investigation into the incident, as well as carrying out our own investigations with the bus operator GoAhead.

"A picture is emerging of what happened and it appears there are several factors that played a role in the incident. It is essential that we allow it to complete its work to fully establish all the facts."

Scotland Yard confirmed at the time of the crash that all the drivers involved stopped at the scene and no arrests were made.