BENGALURU: A Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus ran amok on Kumaraswamy Layout Road, hitting several vehicles and injuring nine people, including two children, who were travelling in an autorickshaw.
The bus dragged the auto for over 100 metres. According to the eyewitnesses, the bus driver was shouting “brake fail... brake fail...” all the while.
The accident comes exactly a week after a BMTC bus ran over a 17-year-old student of a Mount Carmel College at Majestic.
On Monday, the bus hit three autos, a car, an SUV and a bike. In the driver’s statement at the police station, he said the brakes of the bus had failed. BMTC officials claimed it was the driver’s mistake. Police, however, are yet to ascertain the exact reason.
The injured have been identified as Shivakumar (48), an auto-driver, his wife Sudha (35), their three-year-old son Siddaiah and his cousin Rakshitha (9). The family reside in a rented house in Yadalam Nagar in Subramanyapura.
Other injured are Anand (25), an auto- driver, and the passengers of his auto Manjula (36) and Ranjitha (18), Rajesh(32), another auto-driver and his passenger Sridhar (26). Four of them were critically injured and Rakshitha’s condition is said to be critical too.
People in the area, who saw the accident, rescued the family after breaking the top of the auto and rushed all of them to a nearby hospital.
Hombalaiah, a relative of Shivakumar, said that the family had gone to buy clothes for Rakshitha, who had come to the city for Dasara Holidays.
Rakshitha, Shivakumar’s elder sister Mahadevamma’s daughter, was to return to her village Halagur in Maddur on Sunday.
The plan was postponed as they wanted to shop for her. They were returning home when the accident occurred.
KS Layout traffic police were alerted about the incident and they rushed to the spot taken the damaged vehicle to the station. They have filed a case of negligence driving and the exact reason for the mishap yet to be ascertained.
Speaking to Express, Tejas, who had a narrow escape when his bike was hit, said that the bus was coming from the opposite side and rammed to the SUV that hit his bike.
Disaster at High Speed
According to one of the passersby, the bus driver started shouting “brake fail” after ramming into two autos in front of Apollo Pharmacy. He had to take a left turn, but he went towards Park Road, which was sloping and so the bus picked up speed. The auto carrying the family was dragged for 100 metres due to the force before crushing it.
a Series of Unfortunate Events
Around 11 am, the BMTC bus on Route No. 15E heads towards KS Layout from Majestic
The driver loses control over the bus after crossing Dayanand Sagar College
The bus rams into two autorickshaws on Vyasaraya Ballal Road. Two drivers and three passengers are injured
The bus keeps moving, rams a parked Indica car and an SUV
It hits another autorickshaw near Major Sandeep Park. The auto driver and his family are almost crushed under it
The bus finally stops. Driver Mahesh Kumar and conductor Siddarth escape from the spot