Patient dies as ambulance rear-ends bus

A woman was killed on the spot and five others were injured when the ambulance in which they were travelling hit a private bus from behind near a toll collection centre at Nagasandra on Tumakuru Road on Friday morning.

The deceased was identified Eeramma, 46, a resident of Sandur in Ballari district. She was being taken to Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research (JICSR) here when the accident occurred around 7 am, said the police.

The injured were identified as Veeresh, Kumaraswamy and Ratnamma, all Eeramma’s relatives from Sandur, Vinay Kumar, the ambulance driver, and Jacob, a support staff. They were rushed to a nearby hospital. They were stated to be out of danger.

“Eeramma was admitted in a private hospital in Hosapete four days ago after she developed cardiovascular complications. Her condition deteriorated on Thursday. We shifted her to Vijayanagara Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS) in Ballari on the doctor’s advice.  However, doctors at the VIMS advised us to take her to JICSR.” Veeresh told DH.

“We hired the ambulance from Ballari and left for Bengaluru on Thursday night. The private bus driver did not make way for the ambulance though the siren was on. Kumar found it difficult to overtake the bus near Nagasandra on National Highway-4. The bus suddenly slowed down as the driver applied brakes. Kumar lost control and rear-ended the bus,” he said.

Eeramma was killed on the spot due to head injuries, while others escaped with minor injuries. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, but doctors declared her brought dead, Veeresh said.

Lancy D’ Souza, driver of the private bus belonging to Canara Pinto travels, was arrested by the Peenya Traffic police on the charge of negligent driving.