KOCHI: Amid ongoing concerns over reckless driving and associated dangers posed by private buses in the city, a college student lost his life after his scooter was hit by a private bus near Kaloor on Saturday.
The deceased has been identified as Govind Sudhindranath Shenoy, 18, a first-year BCom student at Sacred Heart College, Thevara, and a resident of Gokulam, TD Road, Ernakulam South. Govind is the younger son of Sudhindranath Shenoy and Sunitha S Shenoy, who run a hardware store on TD Road.
The accident occurred around 8.15 am on Saturday near the North Bridge, when the speeding bus, ‘Nandanam’ rammed into the teen’s electric scooter, said an officer with the Ernakulam Town North police.
“Following the incident, the bus driver fled the scene but was later apprehended near Kaloor Junction. Later, the arrest was registered under rash driving and causing death by negligence, under various sections of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita,” said Town North SI P P Reji. The preliminary probe suggested that speeding led to the accident, he said. After the inquest and postmortem procedures at Ernakulam General Hospital, the body was handed over to his family.
The accident occurred while the youth was attempting to overtake a car. His electric scooter was rear-ended by the private bus, said a witness, an employee at a nearby petrol pump.
“We rushed to the spot after hearing the sound of a collision. The impact threw both Govind and the scooter to the right side of the road. A witness said, the rear wheels of the bus ran over him within seconds, causing fatal injuries,” he said. With the help of passersby, the teen was taken to Lisie Hospital, but his life could not be saved, he added.