Child thrown through bus windscreen, killed under front wheel

The incident occurred on a bus operated by Manjunatha Swamy Travels near Honnapura Lake

A six-year-old girl sitting on the dashboard of a private bus was thrown out of its broken windscreen and run over by the front wheel. She died instantly.

The shocking incident occurred on a bus operated by Manjunatha Swamy Travels near Honnapura Lake, about 3 km from Magadi town and about 34 km southwest of Bengaluru, around 11.30 am on Wednesday, according to Magadi police.

Jeevitha had insisted on accompanying her paternal grandmother Gowramma and her younger brother to their home village of Ujjini, near Huliyurdurga, Tumakuru district. The family - comprising Jeevitha, her parents Kumar and Jyothi, Kumar's mother Gowramma and her brother - has been living in Rajagopalanagar, northwestern Bengaluru.

Gowramma and her brother were about to leave home when Jeevitha demanded that she be taken along. The family relented. So Gowramma, her brother and Jeevitha boarded the bus in Sunkadakatte. Gowramma got a seat in the front, next to the driver's, while her brother got to sit in the rear of the bus. Jeevitha was seated on the dashboard.

Police said the bus driver is believed to have been speeding. Something caused the windscreen to break, which caused a large opening. The bus then jerked, throwing Jeevitha out and she was pulled under the left front wheel. The girl sustained serious head injuries and died on the spot. It all happened in a matter of seconds.

Police have seized the bus and opened a case against the driver. Jeevitha's body was handed over to the family after the post-mortem.