A woman fell off a scooter that her son was driving and was crushed under the wheels of a private bus in Thakurpukur early on Monday, which marked the start of Kolkata police’s drive to raise traffic safety awareness.
Police said Rupa Mondal, 42, was pulled out by witnesses and taken to Vidyasagar State General Hospital nearby. She was declared dead on arrival.
Rupa’s son, Suman, 20, escaped with minor injuries. Police said both were wearing helmets.
Eyewitnesses told the police the scooter was moving down Diamond Harbour Road when the accident happened.
The private bus on route SD-16 (Shirakol to Mukundapur) that allegedly crushed Rupa was trying to overtake another bus when the accident happened, some eyewitnesses said. The police, however, denied the allegation.
Suman was trying to skirt the bus when the driver moved sideways. The scooter was in a blind spot of the driver and knocked down.
Suman’s mother, who was returning from an ESI hospital after her night shift, fell down and came under the wheels.
Suman fell down on the other side with the scooter.
“The woman was crushed under the front left wheel, while her son escaped with minor injuries,” said a senior police officer. “We managed to stop the bus. The driver has been arrested.”
The police said Rupa was a contractual employee at the hospital.
Her son used to drop her off at the hospital and bring her back home on his scooter every day.
“The victim worked in the hospital’s conservancy department and was a contractual employee. She was on her way back home from night shift when the accident happened,” an officer said.
Buses have a few blind spots that are beyond the view of the driver — the spots below the driver’s cabin on either side and immediately behind the vehicle.
Body found
Survey Park: A 57-year-old man was found hanging from an iron railing of the staircase of a building in the Survey Park area on Sunday.
Uttam Mondal, a resident of Kalikapur, was declared dead in hospital. No suicide note was found.
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