At least 22 people were injured as two buses racing each other on Diamond Harbour Road apparently lost control and crashed into other vehicles and finally into a Metro pillar at Thakurpukur on Monday morning.
A 75-year-old pedestrian who was waiting to board an autorickshaw suffered serious injuries as he was sandwiched between a speeding bus and a roadside fruit shop, police said.
Nirmal Kumar Das, a resident of Purba Putiary, has been admitted to SSKM Hospital, the policeThe
The bus being towed away
“According to eyewitnesses, two buses — one on the Dharmatala-Namkhana route and another on the Amtala-Salt Lake route — were speeding along Diamond Harbour Road when, near the MG Road crossing, one of the buses lost control and swerved left, crashing into a roadside fruit shop,” said an officer of Thakurpukur police station.
“The other bus hit two cars and mounted one of them before hitting the Metro pillar,” said the officer.
One of the cars that suffered relatively less damage was requisitioned by the police and had a police board on it. The other car, which was being driven by its owner, suffered damages to its front and rear ends.
Das, who was about to board an auto-rickshaw, was sandwiched between the first bus and the fruit stall, the police said.
Metro tried to call Das’s family but there was no response.
One of the buses hit a cow, which suffered severe injuries, the police said.
“A total of 22 people, most of whom were inside the two buses, were injured. Only one person on the road — the elderly man — was injured and had to be admitted for treatment. The remaining 21 people were treated and discharged through the day,” said the officer.
The two buses were impounded but the drivers had fled. The police said the drivers were later arrested.
The injured cow that was hit by one of the buses
The cause of the crash was yet to be formally ascertained, the police said. The buses will undergo mechanical tests to determine if there were any glitches.
The bus that runs on route 235 (between Amtala and Salt lake) has 348 pending cases of traffic violations in the Calcutta police area, while the other bus (of the Dharmatala-Namkhana route) has 24 cases.
“The bus of route 235 has been accused of rash and negligent driving and has reportedly been involved in three non-fatal accidents, according to traffic records. One of these accidents was reported in the Thakurpukur area earlier this year,” said an officer.
Diamond Harbour is busy through the day with multiple autorickshaw routes, pedestrians, rickshaws, illegal parking and blocks because of Metro construction. Many accidents have been reported from the stretch and the police said it was fortuitous that Monday’s did not lead to a fatality.
Buses continue to speed on this road and residents of the area blame the police for not doing enough.
A senior officer of the traffic department conceded that the crash showed yet again how “buses run rogue on the roads” and race other buses on the same route to pick up more passengers.
“Hundreds of bus drivers are prosecuted and arrested every year for such rash and negligent driving. But once they are out on bail, they are recruited again by the bus owners. We also try to create awareness among bus drivers for safe driving,” said an officer.