Speeding car jumps median, crashes into KSRTC bus on Bengaluru-Tumakuru highway; 5 killed

Bengaluru: In a tragic road accident on the Bengaluru-Tumakuru highway, five young men were killed after their car jumped the road median and rammed into a KSRTC bus heading towards Hubballi.

The horrific collision occurred around 11.30 pm on Saturday on the Chikkabidarakallu flyover, right opposite the Canara Bank near Jindal. The car, a Tata Indica (KA02MA884) carrying five friends, was travelling from Tumakuru toward Bengaluru when the driver allegedly lost control. According to the police, the vehicle was being driven at high speed, causing it to leap over the road divider and crash head-on into the oncoming bus.

The impact was so severe that the car was reduced to a mangled heap of metal.

Kemparaj, the driver of the KSRTC bus, said: "I was driving toward Hubballi with 55 passengers when this car suddenly flew over the divider from the opposite side and hit us. The sound was deafening, and glass pieces flew everywhere, hitting me as well.

It happened in a split second," Kemparaj said. Fortunately, while the bus sustained significant damage, all 55 passengers on board escaped without major injuries.

The injured individual was rushed to a nearby hospital where he succumbed. The police have identified the four victims, all residents of Doddaballapura. Harshith, A second-year BCom student at Sai Vidya First Grade College, Rajanukunte, Lalit Kumar (23) a resident of Gangadharapura Layout, Keshi, a resident of Kallupete, and Durgaprasad, a resident of Kallupete.

Lalit Kumar worked as a CCTV camera operator. His mother, Rupa, a school teacher, recounted her last conversation with her son. "He left home in the morning after breakfast, saying he was going to a temple with friends. I called him around 8.45 pm, and he said they were on their way back. We had no idea who owned the car," she said.

The Northwest DCP reached the spot shortly after the accident to oversee rescue operations. "Primary information suggests the car crossed the median and collided with the bus coming from the Bengaluru side. Four persons died on the spot, and one injured individual has been shifted for emergency treatment," the DCP stated.

While speeding is suspected to be the primary cause, Madanayakanahalli police are investigating whether rash driving or a mechanical failure led to the car losing control.