JOIN USBengaluru traffic cop fixes punctured ambulance transporting stroke patient
An ambulance transporting a critically ill man had a blown tyre on Monday afternoon, prompting police to act.
The incident happened on Palace Road in front of the offices of the Department of Drug Control on Tuesday afternoon. At the time, the ambulance was transporting a patient from Gleneagles Global Hospitals near Richmond Circle to Cytecare Cancer Hospital in Yelahanka.
Medical sources said the patient, aged between 45 to 50, had suffered a stroke and was being treated at Gleneagles for Cerebral Venous Thrombosis (blood clot of a vein in the brain). It was decided to move him to Cytecare for additional ICU care in addition to neurological scanning, and to treat a secondary kidney-related problem.
DH, which was on-site, observed the ambulance speeding from the Maharani College junction towards Chalukya Circle before coming to a jarring halt.
Sunil, the owner of Baby Ambulance Services (a Laggere-based firm), which operates the vehicle, told DH later that the ambulance had a blown tyre.
“The wheel rim had been damaged a while ago and as the vehicle was speeding, the tyre burst,” he said, sharing GPS information which showed that the incident happened at 1.31 pm.
“The case being moved was a transfer patient. He was on oxygen supply, and we had a two-hour supply onboard. The patient was in no danger,” he added.
Although the driver attempted to call for a replacement ambulance, he was unsuccessful. When 15 minutes had passed, relatives of the infirm man, a woman, and her daughter, began to panic.
Noticing the situation, police constable Kasappa Kallur of the Cubbon Park traffic police station, who was on duty at the CID Junction, rushed to help.
Traffic police later said that he “did a commendable job acting as the tyre puncher (repairman) of the ambulance”.
They added the repairs were completed just as a replacement ambulance arrived. GPS information shows that the ambulance had stopped for a total of 27 minutes.
A representative of Cytecare said the “patient is in ICU and is stable now”.
Bonus, heaps of praise
Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) B R Ravikanthe Gowda on Wednesday rewarded Kallura with a bonus of Rs 5,000 for his helpful deed.
“We rise to the occasion and do our best in any given situation, and this is the best example,” added K M Shantharaju, DCP, Traffic (East).
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