Couple killed as KSRTC bus ploughs into truck, 4-yr-old son battling for life

A couple was killed and their four-year-old son was among 26 injured in a freak accident involving a KSRTC bus and a truck.

The trio, hailing from Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district, was travelling in the KSRTC bus that hit a truck parked by the roadside at Mylapura gate on the Bengaluru-Chennai highway near Hoskote in the early hours of Monday.

The victims are Balamurugan (35) and his wife Selvi (29), residents of Srinivasanagar in Bengaluru. The injured boy, Nishchay, is battling for his life in a private hospital in Whitefield.

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Citing preliminary investigations, police said the accident happened around 1.45 am when the bus was coming to Bengaluru from Balijakandriga in Chittoor district. The driver failed to notice a granite-laden truck stopped on the roadside due to a breakdown and rammed into it.

The bus driver escaped with minor injuries and was treated as an outpatient in a private hospital. Around 26 passengers with minor injuries have been shifted to different hospitals in Hoskote and in the city. More than six people sustained severe injuries and are undergoing treatment in the ICUs of different hospitals. A few of them have sustained fractures to their hands and legs. The details of those injured are being collected, police said.

Balamurugan, his wife and son were seated adjacent to the driver on the left side of the bus, the left portion of which was completely damaged in the crash and killed them on the spot.

Hoskote police have registered a case against the truck and bus driver. Both vehicles have been seized and further investigation is on.