CHITRADURGA: Rafiq, driver of the ill-fated bus, said he tried to steer his vehicle away from the speeding truck approaching from the opposite direction, but couldn’t.
“The truck came jumped the road divider from the other side. It was overspeeding. I was maintaining a speed of 60-70 (km/hr) at that time. I saw the vehicle coming from the front. I could feel the truck hitting the bus, but after that I don’t know what happened and how I was brought out,” Rafiq told reporters. He is undergoing treatment at a hospital.
“I tried to control the bus on seeing the vehicle approaching from the opposite direction. My bus even touched another vehicle, which was moving next to us; I don’t know what vehicle it was. But couldn’t (control),” he said.
Mohammed Sadiq, cleaner of the bus who is also undergoing treatment with minor injuries, said he was thrown out of the bus due to the impact. “The truck come from the opposite direction and rammed the diesel tank of the bus. I was in the front of the bus and was asleep. Due to the impact, I was thrown out,” he said.
Tanker driver’s negligence
Preliminary investigations pointed to negligence on the part of the tanker driver, police said. The truck driver, identified as Kuldeep, died in the crash. The bus driver, conductor and a few passengers managed to escape by jumping out moments after the collision.