Abhilash, a Class 7 student of St Philomena’s English School, Sarjapura, died of multiple fractures and internal bleeding when efforts to revive him failed at Sparsh Hospital at 5.20 pm. Govindaraju, driver of the mini bus, was also grievously injured and is battling for life at the Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS).
After hitting the tree, the bus went over a mud heap near the Anjaneya Temple at Thindlu Gate and toppled in the middle of the road. Villagers rushed to the spot and extricated the children from the bus that had turned turtle. After shifting the injured to the nearby hospital, the villagers, in a fit of rage, set the vehicle on fire.
Children sitting near the left side windows suffered major injuries whereas others escaped unhurt. Bangalore Rural District police said the mini bus was carrying 32 students to drop them home across the Tamil Nadu border, a few kilometres away from the accident site.
Jamuna, a Class 8 student, was also admitted to the Sparsh Hospital. She sustained injuries in the abdomen and the head. She would be under observation for the next two days, doctors said.
Two other students, Deepak and Divya, are being treated at the Sarjapura Town Hospital. Other injured students were treated as outpatients. The badly torched vehicle was later removed from the road by a crane.
The accident spot presented a ghastly picture with charred school bags, books, tiffin boxes and shoes scattered all over it. Shocked parents and relatives, on being informed of the accident, ran from pillar to post to get more details about the accident. According to villagers, the stretch is an accident-prone zone with dangerous curves. Adding to the misery, overloaded vehicles frequently ply on the thoroughfare imperiling others’ lives.
Although angry relatives of school children injured in the mishap alleged that the driver was drunk, police refused to confirm it saying they were still verifying the matter.
Abhilash was one of the two children of Varalakshmi and Lokesh, a weaver from Chokkarasanapalli, a village in Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri district four kilometres away from the accident spot.