Speeding bus hits truck, 1 dead, 40 injured
GHAZIABAD: A bus driver was killed and at least 40 people were injured on Sunday morning when a speeding Rajasthan roadways bus, en route to Haridwar, hit the rear end of a container truck near Murad Nagar in Ghaziabad.
The incident took place around 4am and there were a total of 48 passengers in the bus.
All the injured passengers were rushed to MMG and Sanjay Nagar government hospitals. The driver, Babu Lal (40) succumbed to injuries at the accident site. Officials said the bus was on its way from Jalore depot in Rajasthan to Haridwar in Uttar Pradesh, a journey of nearly 950km.
“A total of 29 passengers were brought to the Sanjay Nagar hospital while another 12 were admitted to MMG district hospital; including the driver who died. We have also sent two passengers to Delhi as they were grievously injured,” Dr SN Singh, emer- gency medical officer at the Sanjay Nagar hospital, said.
The Ghaziabad police has arrested truck driver Netram (52) and filed an FIR in the case.
Murad Nagar station house officer Ranvir Singh said, “The driver was fleeing with the truck when highway patrol vans chased him and arrested him. His truck was seized and Netram was arrested. He is from Dadri in Gautam Budh Nagar. An FIR has been lodged against him.”
According to police, the accident took place around 4am when the speeding bus was on its way to Haridwar after a brief stopover at the ISBT in Delhi.
“The truck was taking a turn and had stopped because of another vehicle ahead of it. In the meanwhile, the bus rammed into the truck and its front portion was badly damaged. We have shifted all the injured to the hospital and are taking care of their treatment,” HN Singh, senior superintendent of police, Ghaziabad, said.
Most of the passengers had boarded the bus in Rajasthan and belong to different cities of Jalore, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Ajmer and Sikar. Most of the injured passengers suffered injuries, and fractures to the head, legs and face.
The passengers HT spoke with said that the bus driver probably dozed off while driving and could not see the truck ahead on the Ghaziabad-meerut road.
Mahipal, the bus conductor, said, “After Jalore, the bus headed to Jaipur where the crew changed. After Kotputli, the bus reached Delhi’s ISBT at Sarai Kale Khan and proceeded to Haridwar. In Ghaziabad, the bus met with the accident. I was on the front conductor seat. I had covered myself with a shawl and was half asleep. Then, the speeding bus hit the truck and I fell down and lost consciousness.”