Rash, negligent driving caused Vallarpadam accident, finds preliminary probe

The preliminary investigation by the Mulavukad police has found that rash and negligent driving by the driver caused the accident in which a private bus went out of control and hit the rear of an ambulance and two container lorries at Vallarpadam during the peak evening hours last Monday injuring over 50 passengers.

A day after the accident, a video had emerged of the driver screaming that he had lost control of the bus and bus passengers calling out to motorists ahead of the bus to move off their track as the bus had suffered a brake failure.

“We have completed the inspection of the vehicle and our preliminary assessment is that rash and negligent driving by the driver caused the accident and not necessarily any brake failure. Even if it was a brake failure, it was up to the driver to properly check and ensure that it was in working condition. He was not having control over the vehicle right from the time of manoeuvring the incline,” Mulavukad police sources said.

The police, however, are yet to submit a report to the Motor Vehicles department. It will be done after recording the statements of witnesses and taking expert opinion. As of now, the charges invoked by the police against the bus driver remain.

He was booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 281 (drives any vehicle, or rides, on any public way in a manner so rash or negligent as to endanger human life, or to be likely to cause hurt or injury to any other person) 125(a) (causing hurt by any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life or the personal safety of others), and 125(b) (causing grievous hurt by any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life or the personal safety of others).

The first information report (FIR) was registered by the police based on a complaint by a woman whose elder daughter in the ambulance fractured her legs while her granddaughter also suffered injury to her hand. The petitioner herself wounded her hand and leg. They were among the passengers with serious injuries.

According to the FIR, the bus, which was being driven rashly by the driver, rammed the rear side of the ambulance ahead while descending the second Goshree Bridge before going on to hit two container lorries and a motorcyclist, who was also injured in the accident.

Published - October 04, 2024 07:51 pm IST