KOCHI: A 43-year-old woman was killed after a private bus ran over her at the Lisie Hospital Junction on Monday morning. The deceased has been identified as Lakshmi, a Tamil Nadu native and a resident of Kalamassery.
The incident occurred at 8.30 am when the woman was crossing the road. According to the police, she was hit by the vehicle, which had then just begun moving after halting at a bus stop. Since the woman was very close to the bus, the driver could not see her. When the bus resumed its journey, Lakshmi got trapped under its wheels.
As per the statements of eyewitnesses, she died on the spot. “The bus also dragged her nearly 10 metres away,” said Vinod, a migrant worker working in a nearby hotel. Though the locals rushed her to a nearby hospital, she succumbed to her injuries.
“Since the bus had run over her head, the injury was grievous. The carelessness of the pedestrian resulted in the sad incident,” said a home guard who was deployed near the area. The body will be handed over to the family after a postmortem examination on Tuesday.
Lakshmi is survived by her husband Ayyappan, who is a daily wage worker, and two sons, Vimal and Vishnu. Meanwhile, the police have registered a case against the driver under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code.
“During the preliminary investigation, we found that the accident was not caused by the rashness and negligence of the driver,” said an officer.
The accident comes at a time when the Kochi City Police commenced stringent action against private buses plying in the city for overspeeding and rash driving. Since October 2022, the police have conducted inspections on 30,733 private buses and initiated action against 4,759 buses. Over 1,000 cases were also registered against drivers.
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Lakshmi was the sole breadwinner of family
According to relatives, Lakshmi was the sole breadwinner of the family as her husband could not find wage work for many days. “For the last year, Lakshmi has been working in a house on SRM Road. Every day, she used to leave home around 7.30 in the morning and get back by 6 pm. The news of her death was a real shock for us. We never thought a tragedy would strike our family,” said Subramanian, a relative.
“Though she is working as a housemaid, she was adamant that her children get proper education. She used to ensure that whatever money she got from work was used properly. It would be a huge loss to the family,” Subramanian added.
Meanwhile, Ayyappan and the two boys are yet to recover from the shock. “When the accident happened, Ayyappan was working at Kasaragod. He is expected to reach Kochi late Monday night. The three are still in shock as they are not ready to believe that Lakshmi has died,” Subramanian said.