COIMBATORE: Six persons were killed and three others injured, when a speeding SUV ran into them at Iyer Hospital bus stop in Sundarapuram. The car belonged to the owner of a private educational institution in the city and it was the owner’s driver who had been at the wheel. Exhausted from driving overnight, he had fallen asleep at the wheel. The deceased were identified as V Narayanan (70), S Amsaveni (34), A Sri Rangados (69), N Subhashini (18), N Kuppathal (70) and Rukmani (65) — all residents of Sundarapuram. It was 10.30 and all were waiting at the stop to get a bus to Ukkadam, when the incident happened. P Jegadhesan (36), of Coonoor — personal driver to the owner of the college on Pollachi Road near Echanari lost control and ran the car into a flower stall and an auto before mowing down the people at the bus stop.
While these six persons died on the spot, three others were taken to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) and a private hospital with grievous injuries. The car had been heading towards Podanur to pick up its owner from his house and drop him off at the college. Thanks to the safety features of the car, Jegadhesan managed to get away with minor injuries. However, he was dragged out of the car and beaten up by the angry public. Only then was he handed over to the police, who then admitted him to CMCH for treatment. City Police Commissioner K Periaiah, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Sujith Kumar visited the spot and launched an investigation.
Jegadheesan was booked under section of 279 (Rash driving or riding on a public way), 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 338 (Causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 304 (2) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and arrested. Preliminary inquiry revealed that the driver had fallen asleep at the wheel for mere seconds, leading to the accident.
Speaking to Express, Inspector S Deivasigamani, who was investigating the accident, said, “Jegadhesan had been driving continuously from Tuesday night. He had dropped the owner’s daughter at a hospital in Bengaluru and returned to Coimbatore on early Wednesday morning. Without proper sleep, he was driving to pick up the owner from his house. That was when he reportedly fell asleep near Iyer Hospital bus stop.”
The inspector confirmed that Jegadhesan had not been under the influence of alcohol as claimed by the public.
Auto driver’s narrow escape
Before running into the bus stop, the SUV hit an auto parked on the road side. However, auto owner K Silambarasan had a narrow escape simply because he was standing 10 metre away from the auto. He had walked away to talk to his wife who had just called him on the phone. It was only when he heard a smashing sound that he turned around and saw his auto being crushed by the car.His friend Suresh who was seated in the auto was not as lucky. He had to be admitted to a private hospital with minor injuries.
R Murali, owner of a mobile shop near the bus stop, had witnessed the entire accident. “The car was running at a speed of more than 1oo km/hour and ran over passengers,” he claimed and suggested that speed breakers be laid on the road to prevent such accidents.
Charges against driver
Booked under section of 279 (Rash driving or riding on a public way), 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 338 (Causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 304 (2) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of Indian Penal Code