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Drunk driver crashes private bus into tree, 14 injured

Accident leads to traffic jam on Outer Ring Road near Agara
Last Updated 27 July 2016, 19:45 IST

As many as 14 passengers were injured when a private bus overturned after hitting a tree on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) between Agara and Iblur junction, near the Central Training Military Camp around 12.15 pm on Wednesday.

The police said the bus was going towards Tin Factory from Banashankari. While driving on the service road, a drunk Kiran Kumar (22) lost control over the bus and hit a tree on the median that separates the main road and service road. The huge tree was uprooted and the bus overturned.

“There were around 30 passengers in the bus and 14 sustained minor injuries. The public alerted the jurisdictional HSR Layout traffic police, who rushed to the spot and pulled out the people from the bus. The injured were shifted to Sakra hospital and St Mathew’s hospital,” said a senior police officer. Some of the injured were identified as Neeraja, Ramesh, Smitha, Balakrishna, Gudappa, Javed Khan, Shambavi and Savitha.

HSR Layout traffic police constables Yadhuveer, Tayappa, Suresh and Shivakumar got into the bus and helped the passengers get out. They provided them firstaid and shifted them to ambulance. A crane was used to remove the tree, which was obstructing the traffic. The Army and Fire Service personnel helped the traffic police in clearing the pile-up. The entire area was cleared within 35 minutes and the traffic was back to normal, the police said.

The police have registered a case and detained the driver Kiran Kumar of Ragigudda in JP Nagar and conductor Wasim of Bommanahalli. The driver was subjected to breathalyser test and the reading was 228/100 mg, the police said.

Savitha of Hoskote, who was on her way to her relative's house, sustained shoulder injury. She told Deccan Herald that the driver and conductor were seen arguing with the passengers who objected to the exorbitant fare.

“The driver said that they would charge as per their whims and if anyone had a problem, they could get out. That is when we realised that the driver was drunk. Some passengers got down near Jayadeva hospital. The driver was driving rashly. Many passengers asked him to slow down. But he was not ready to listen to anyone. He hit the tree, which got uprooted and the bus overturned. Fortunately, no one suffered major injuries,” Savitha said.

After the accident, vehicles piled up on the ORR and had a rippling effect on Sarjapur road as well as roads in HSR Layout, Madiwala, Electronics City, Whitefield, Marathalli, Bellandur and surrounding areas. Saurabh Matunga, a techie at a private company in Marathahalli, said, “As usual the entire stretch is a chock-a-block and the accident made it worse. Fortunately, the police cleared the area quickly.”
 
Samaritan cops feted
The policemen rushed to the help of the trapped passengers. They not only gave first-aid to the injured but also immediately shifted them to nearby hospitals. Sandeep KM, General Manager, Sakra World Hospital, said that with their presence the policemen saved the patients from any risk. “The hospital has a programme to felicitate those who save lives. The policemen were given ‘Sakra Life Saver Award’ certificate in recognition of their efforts.”

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(Published 27 July 2016, 19:45 IST)

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