Electric bus hits Metro pillar in Punjabi Bagh, 1 killed, 23 injured
The accident, which took place near Shivaji Park Metro station on Rohtak Road at 7.25am, led to massive traffic snarls during the morning rush
A 45-year-old woman was killed and 23 people were wounded in a freak accident where the driver of an electric bus reportedly dozed off and lost control of the vehicle, swerving onto a divider and then crashing into a pillar of the Delhi Metro in west Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh early on Monday, police said.
An autorickshaw, travelling behind the bus, could not brake in time and crashed into the rear of the bus, the police said, adding that the driver of the three-wheeler and its three passengers were among those wounded in the crash.
The accident, which took place near Shivaji Park Metro station on Rohtak Road at 7.25am, led to massive traffic snarls during the morning rush hour on the busy route. Dozens of onlookers and motorists were seen trying to rescue the passengers in the bus and auto leading to a serpentine jam on the route.
Senior officials of the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS), under which the e-bus was operating, said that their initial probe into the crash and analysis of the CCTV footage from the camera inside the bus suggest that the driver appeared to have dozed off while driving.
“From what we could see on the CCTV screen inside the bus, it was running in its dedicated lane. Suddenly the bus is seen drifting to the right and then crashing into the Metro pillar. Prima facie, it appears that the driver dozed off at the steering wheel and his initial statement appears to be inconsistent with the facts we have collected. We are suspending him as of now. The speed of the bus was 33km per hour at the time,” said a senior official from DIMTS.
The bus, operating on route number 939, was moving towards its destination Anand Vihar Terminal from Mangolpuri.
Deputy commissioner of police (west) Vichitra Veer said that at 7.42am, the Punjabi Bagh police station received a call regarding the accident. After reaching the accident spot, it was found that an electric bus had crashed into Metro pillar number-146, Veer said. Due to the sudden braking, an autorickshaw also collided with the bus from behind, the DCP added.
Traffic personnel were deployed around the crash site to regulate the flow of vehicles, while the local police personnel arranged ambulances to rush the injured people to nearby hospitals.
“In the accident, 24 passengers, including the bus’s driver and conductor, were injured. Of them, 14 passengers were shifted to Maharaja Agrasen Hospital, while 10 injured passengers were taken to Acharya Bhikshu Hospital in Moti Nagar. Unfortunately, one female passenger was declared brought dead at the Agrasen Hospital. Another injured passenger, aged about 55 years, is currently in the intensive care unit (ICU) there,” added DCP Veer.
The deceased woman was identified as Saveeta (who used a single name) and worked as a sanitation worker with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). She lived in northwest Delhi’s Sultanpuri and is survived by her daughter, a son, and four grandchildren. She was the main earning member in the family, said Saveeta’s son-in-law, Arun Kumar.
“Like every working day, she was travelling to Naraina for her morning duty. The police should take strict action against the driver, whose negligence claimed my mother-in-law,” said Kumar.
“We were returning to our home in Ghazipur from the house of our elder daughter, Jyoti, in Peeragarhi when the bus crashed into the Metro pillar. The impact of the crash was such as many of the passengers fell off their seats and suffered injuries. Passengers were screaming inside. There were more than 35 passengers in the bus at the time of the accident,” said Manju, one of the passengers in the bus.
A first information report (FIR) has been registered under the applicable section of law at the Punjabi Bagh police station, officers said. The reason for the accident will be established based on their report and mechanical inspection of the vehicle, the DCP said.
Officials from the DIMTS said that the driver’s services may soon be terminated. An official report is being prepared and sent to the transport minister.