The windshield of the bus shattered and the front portion got mangled as the vehicle crashed into a pillar
A speeding private bus, packed with passengers, entered the wrong lane and rammed into one of the pillars of Kumbalam toll plaza at 7.45am. The driver claimed he lost control after the brakes failed. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kochi | Silver Rate in Kochi | Bank Holidays in Kochi | Public Holidays in Kochi Stay updated with the latest Kochi news.
To avoid plowing into a line of waiting traffic, the driver reportedly steered into an oncoming lane and mounted a median divider before crashing directly into the structural pillar,” a police officer said. The bus crashed into a structural pillar, heavily damaging it, the fixtures and two CCTV cameras,” said Sunil Kumar, assistant plaza manager. The bus operating on the Eramalloor-Kaloor route was proceeding to Vyttila side from Aroor. Panangad Police lodged a case for rash driving. The windshield of the bus was shattered, and the front portion mangled as it crashed into the pillar. “Luckily, there were no vehicles coming from the opposite side through the toll plaza lane, so a major mishap was averted. The bus crew claimed the brakes failed as the vehicle approached the toll gates. The cops have collected the CCTV footage for detailed examination. “There are four lanes dedicated to vehicles going to the North side. The toll plaza is operated by the National Highway Authority of India. We held talks with private bus associations and urged them to restrain the crew to avoid accidents,” Kumar added. The motor vehicles department officials also inspected the bus to verify whether a genuine mechanical failure caused the crash or whether reckless driving was responsible. Download the TOI App.
As per the primary probe, the speeding bus entered the wrong lane to avoid colliding with vehicles waiting before the toll plaza. The bus entered the wrong side (meant for vehicles proceeding to Aroor side) through the vacant median space just before the toll plaza. “Earlier, there were similar instances of private buses speeding through the toll plaza lanes, overtaking dangerously through the median space and even crashing the roll gate barriers.
Kochi : Another instance of rash driving by a private bus put the lives of many passengers at risk on Friday morning.
As many as 24 passengers were injured. The bus reportedly carried nearly 50 passengers. The injured were rushed to a nearby private hospital within 10 minutes in an ambulance and in another private bus which arrived. Among the injured, there were 17 women and seven men.
Many suffered injuries on their face, shoulder, and head as they were thrown off their seats due to the impact of the collision.