5 schoolchildren injured as drunk driver rams bus into railing

The bus would have fallen in the rivulet had it not got stuck in the railing, bus belonged to St Soldier's International Public School, Sector 28.

Five schoolchildren were injured when a bus they were travelling in rammed into a cemented railing of a rivulet near village Kaimbwala on Monday.

The accident took place at 7.35am, when the school bus was on its way to St Soldier's International Public School, Sector 28, with 30 children on board. The driver of the bus, who was drunk, lost control over the vehicle and rammed it into the railing. An eyewitness, Jagtar Singh, said had the bus not got stuck in the railing, it would have fallen into the rivulet and the result would have been fatal.

The right side of the bus was damaged and the windscreen also came off. The cemented railing was also damaged.
The police was informed and the injured were rushed to Government Multi-Specialty Hospital, Sector 16. The police have arrested the driver after registering a case under Sections 279 and 337 of the Indian Penal Code and 185 of the MV Act (driving by a drunken person).

Was not carrying driver's licence

Sector 3 station house officer (SHO) Dalbir Singh said the accused had been identified as Gurvinder Singh. He was drunk when the accident took place, he added. He said the accused was not carrying the driver's licence as he was earlier challaned by the State Transport Authority (STA). The bus belongs to the school and the police are verifying the case whether any criminal offence would be made against the school authorities, the SHO said.

Principal of the school Vijaya Sidhu said: "Thankfully, no student suffered a major injury. However, the driver injured his leg. We immediately sent a bus to the accident site to pick up the children, while some parents had already taken their children to the hospital." The principal also held a meeting with bus drivers and conductors after the incident.

Sumesh, a student of Class 2, who was injured in the accident, said the bus driver seemed unwell. Sumesh's father Rotash Yadav said: "Sumesh and his friend Abhinav were sitting next to the driver's seat and the driver appeared sleepy."

Not a regular driver

Some parents said the accused driver was on duty for the past two days as the regular driver was on leave. While the parents are under the impression that all buses are owned by the school, the principal said some buses were under a contractor. "The bus which met with the accident belongs to the school," said the principal.