KOCHI: What was initially suspected to have been an accident caused by a speeding car, leading to a 16-year-old schoolgirl suffering grievous injuries, has turned out to be the result of a driver carelessly opening the door of a school van parked on the roadside in Elamakkara.
After a detailed probe by the Elamakkara police -- aided by newly recovered CCTV footage -- revealed the exact cause of the accident, the van driver, Raji (54), a resident of Subash Nagar, was taken into custody and later released on notice after her statement was recorded, a source with the Kochi city police said.
Initially, a car seen in CCTV footage was suspected to have hit the student, especially as the car was seen slowing down briefly after the incident -- which happened around 3.40 pm on Thursday -- before driving away. However, after the vehicle was traced and its occupants interrogated, they told the police that they had not hit the girl and had only slowed down on noticing the accident.
The probe later confirmed that the door of the van struck the girl’s bicycle, causing her to lose control and fall on the road, the official said.
“The woman is a van driver for the same school where the girl studies. During interrogation, she said the incident may have occurred when she inadvertently opened the door after noticing that another student was missing from her vehicle. She did not realise at the time that the door had hit the student,” an officer with the Elamakkara police station said.
The woman had herself rushed to help the injured girl, initially believing that the accident was caused by the passing car. She became aware of her role in the incident only after the police summoned her after reviewing the CCTV footage, the officer added.
Deekshitha, a Plus One student and a resident of Elamakkara, was cycling home near the Puthukkalavattom temple after school when the incident occurred.
Passersby rushed her to a hospital, where she was found to have sustained internal bleeding in the liver.