BENGALURU: THE busy Yeswanthpur Circle saw a major accident on Sunday morning. A mushroom-laden container truck fell off the Yeswanthpur flyover, killing the driver and co-driver.
The accident occurred at 5.45 am, when the 23-year-old driver, Srinivas Rao, lost control of the vehicle on a curve on the flyover, and toppled after crashing into the parapet. While the driver died on spot, the co-driver, Kenchegowda, who was asleep when the accident occurred, succumbed to injuries at KC General Hospital in Malleswaram. Kenchegowda was a resident of Begur and Srinivas Rao lived in Ullala near Kengeri. Both their bodies were shifted to MS Ramaiah Hospital.
The accident took place when the truck was entering the city to deliver mushrooms at KR Market. Surprisingly, when the truck fell from the 25-feet height, the first reaction of those who saw the accident was not to rescue the drivers, but run away with cartons of mushrooms.
Purushotham, an eyewitness, said that the spot where the container truck landed is used as an auto rickshaw stand during the day. Luckily, no vehicles were parked at that hour. Both the drivers were stuck under the wreckage. Police were able to rescue them only after 30 minutes, before rushing the injured to the hospital, where he died.
Kenchegowda’s grieving wife, Kamala, told The New Indian Express, “My husband left home five days ago, but he called on Saturday to inform me that he would be returning home on Sunday. I received news of the accident in the morning and rushed to KC General Hospital, only to find him dead.”
Srinivas lived with his mother Nirmala in a rented house. The family, from Hosur, had recently moved to the city.
Second incident in two years
This is the second time a goods vehicle has fallen off the same flyover, and on the same curve. The last time a similar incident occurred was on November 17, 2017, when a goods carrier carrying live chicken fell off the flyover. The driver and two others travelling in the vehicle sustained injuries, but survived.
A senior traffic official attached to Traffic (West) division told said, “We have decided to write a letter to the BBMP to install a speed-breaker on this particular flyover. After inspecting the spot, we have a plan to fix a strong railing on the edge, which can stop over-speeding vehicles from falling off the flyover. We will take scientific measures to prevent such incidents in the future.”