Mumbai e-way crash: Driver who illegally parked bus for 10 hours held

Police said Ram had neither switched on the hazard lights nor placed warning signs behind the bus to alert approaching motorists after it developed a mechanical failure

Gurugram Police on Friday arrested a 30-year-old bus driver who allegedly left his vehicle parked illegally on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway for more than 10 hours without switching on hazard lights or placing warning signs, resulting in a crash that killed a couple and their five-year-old daughter and injured their two other children early Thursday.

The vehicle also lacked reflective tape that could have made it more visible from a distance. (Photo for representation)

The driver was identified as Hari Ram, a resident of Khoda Chauhan village in Rajasthan’s Alwar district.

Police said the bus developed a mechanical fault around 5pm on Wednesday, following which Ram parked it on the extreme left of the carriageway near the cloverleaf interchange connecting the expressway to the Sohna elevated road. He then left in search of a mechanic.

Investigators said Ram returned to the bus around 11pm after having dinner at a nearby eatery and slept inside the vehicle. However, after a car crashed into the stationary bus around 3.15am on Thursday, he fled the spot, abandoning the vehicle.

Police said Ram had neither switched on the hazard lights nor placed warning signs behind the bus to alert approaching motorists. The vehicle also lacked reflective tape that could have made it more visible from a distance.

Inspector Satpal Singh, station house officer of Bhondsi police station, said investigators traced the bus owner through its registration number and served him a notice seeking his cooperation in the investigation.

The owner subsequently provided Ram’s details and produced him before police on Friday, following which he was formally arrested, Singh said.

Investigators said Ram had informed the owner about the mechanical failure but had not alerted the expressway authorities.

Police said the bus could have been towed away had Ram informed the expressway control room, potentially preventing the fatal collision.

Ram was subsequently released on bail from the police station. A case was registered against him at Bhondsi police station under sections 106 (causing death by negligence), 125(a) (causing hurt by an act endangering human life or personal safety) and 285 (causing danger or obstruction on a public way) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Bambam Prasad Sah, 38, his wife Rupa Devi, 35, and their five-year-old daughter were killed when their Maruti Swift Dzire rammed into the stationary bus on the expressway near Sohna around 3.15am on Thursday.

The couple’s 11-year-old son and one-year-old daughter were rescued after remaining trapped in the mangled car for nearly an hour.

The family, which lived in Delhi’s Rajokri, was returning home after offering prayers at the Mehandipur Balaji temple in Rajasthan’s Dausa district when the crash occurred.