VIJAYAWADA: Three people, including a seven-month-old boy were killed and two others suffered injuries when an APSRTC bus (AC Metro Luxury bus) crashed into a platform where passengers were waiting at Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS) in Vijayawada city on Monday morning. The official said that the driver accidentally engaged the wrong gear instead of reserve gear at the platform and the vehicle jumped on the platform.
The deceased were identified as M Kumari (46) and her grand-son K Ayansh alias Cherry (seven-months-old), both passengers and Y Veeraiah (24), an outsourcing employee with RTC.
The Vijayawada-Guntur non-stop AC metro bus drove on to Platform No-12, hit the railing and chairs, killing two persons (Kumari and Veeraiah) on the spot, and causing injuries to three others. The bus halted just before the stalls at the station. Severely injured Ayansh and two others were shifted to a hospital, where Ayansh lost his final breath while he was availing treatment, said Inspector of Krishnalanka police station, MV Durga Rao.
The preliminary investigation into the incident revealed that instead of reversing the vehicle, the 60-year-old driver drove forward, overshooting the platform, Durga Rao added.
The incident triggered panic among the passengers, who ran helter-skelter in the bus station to save themselves from the accident. The police said that all the passengers, who boarded the bus, were safe.The bus was to depart from platform number 12 to Guntur, but the bus rammed into the platform and hit the passengers.
Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of APSRTC, Dwaraka Tirumala Rao said that an inquiry has been ordered into the incident. The driver of the ill-fated bus is an experienced driver and the vehicle is in fit condition. We are investigating whether it was a technical fault or the driver’s mistake, which led to the fatal accident, he added.
We have registered a case against the driver under sections 304 (A) (causing death by negligence) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life) of IPC. The police have taken the driver into their custody, said Inspector of Police Durga Rao. We have shifted the bodies to the morgue for post-mortem, he added.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy offered his condolences to the bereaved families and directed the officials to ensure better medical treatment to the injured. He announced Rs10 lakh ex-gratia to the bereaved families and ordered an inquiry into the accident.
TDP national general secretary Nara Lokesh expressed grief over the incident and felt that the AP government should take the responsibility for the incident. He also felt that such frequent accidents are taking place in the state as outdated (unfit) buses are being plied and not even a single bus was purchased after YSRC came into governance, he added. EOM
