JOIN USA huge pothole on the upper ramp of Devarabeesanahalli flyover, near Marathahalli, proved fatal for a young techie who was riding pillion with her husband on Thursday night.
Stuthi Pandey, 25, and her husband Omprakash, both software professionals with leading IT firms in the City, were returning to their house in Banashankari 1st Stage after celebrating Ganesha Chaturthi at their friend Suarabh Srivatsav’s house in Munnekolala.
Around 9:15 pm, as he was riding on the upper ramp of the flyover opposite Sakra World Hospital, Omprakash could not avoid a huge pothole. As he rode into it and the bike wobbled, Stuthi fell on one side and Omprakash on the other. She suffered internal head injuries and was rushed to Sakra World Hospital.
However, she had died by then due to brain haemorrhage. Omprakash suffered fractured arm and bruises, said the police. The couple are from Satna in Madhya Pradesh.
A friend of the couple, Ashutosh (name changed), who was some 50 metres behind them when the accident occurred, told Deccan Herald: “I did not witness the accident. But after looking at Stuthi’s body it seems that a vehicle had ran over her soon after she fell. There were marks over her abdomen. But we are not exactly sure if a vehicle had run over her or she had a fatal fall.”
The pothole is right in the middle of the road and there was no caution sign around it. The pothole is deep and anyone riding into it is sure of losing balance and falling down.
Also, there was heavy movement of vehicles on the road which is accident prone, added Ashutosh.
Another friend of the couple said: “It is sheer negligence of the civic bodies to leave such a big pothole unattended on the road where there is constant flow of vehicles.”
The HAL Airport traffic police, who have registered a case of unnatural death, said investigation was on to ascertain how the accident happened. They said they will examine CCTV footages.