CHENNAI: An MTC bus lost control and ran amok near the Madras High Court on Tuesday morning, damaging about nine cars, mostly belonging to advocates, parked along the road. While no one was injured, owners of the damaged cars demanded compensation.
The bus, driven by P Ramamurthy (48) on route 109A from Island Grounds to Thiruvidanthai, was going along NSC Road around 11.30 am when it rammed into the parked cars, according to the Flower Bazaar Traffic Investigation Wing police. It then hit the median and came to a stop over it.
A traffic police officer said Ramamurthy was taken for a medical test soon after the accident, which ruled out drunken driving. A case was registered under section 281 (rash driving or riding on a public way) of the BNS, and he was detained.
“During inquiry, Ramamurthy said that he lost control while driving due to brake failure. He said he hit the median in an attempt to stop the bus,” the officer said. A probe is on to determine the exact series of events which led to the accident.
Speaking to the media, a lawyer said the accident could have been avoided if proper parking arrangements had been in place, and demanded a multi-level car parking facility for lawyers’ vehicles. He also wanted a thorough inquiry to establish whether the crash was accidental.
“There should be proper compensation for the lawyers whose cars have been damaged. If it is not given, we will not allow a single MTC bus to run on this road,” the lawyer said.
Traffic in the area was affected for an hour and normalcy returned after the bus and the cars were cleared, the police said.