Woman gets off cab at signal in Mumbai, gets crushed under BEST bus

Vanmala Sabale, 59, was crossing near Mela Junction when the signal turned green and the bus allegedly moved without the driver noticing her.

A 59-year-old woman who got off a cab at a traffic signal and was crossing the road was crushed under the rear wheel of a BEST bus after the signal turned green at Mela Junction in Worli on Monday morning.

BEST Bus parked outside Worli Police station after the accident. ( Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

The deceased, identified as Vanmala Sabale, a Dharavi resident, was getting off the cab as it stood alongside the BEST bus at the red signal. According to the police, the signal turned green moments after she stepped out and the bus began moving. The driver allegedly failed to notice her, and she came under the bus’s left rear tyre.

Woman dies after being run over at Worli junction

Sabale suffered severe head injuries and was bleeding profusely. She was rushed to BYL Nair Hospital in Mumbai Central, where doctors declared her dead. The Worli police have registered an FIR against the driver of the BEST bus, which was plying route 154 between Byculla Station and Nehru Planetarium in Worli.

“We received information about the accident around 11.30 am. The BEST bus on route 154, travelling from Byculla Station towards Nehru Planetarium, met with an accident at Mela Junction,” a police officer from Worli police station said.

Woman got off cab as destination was nearby

According to the police, Sabale had travelled from Dharavi to meet relatives and decided to get off at the signal as her destination was nearby. She stepped out of the taxi while the signal was red, but the signal changed before she could safely cross the road.

The police said they are in the process of registering a case against the bus driver for causing death by negligence. The driver will be questioned as part of the investigation, police said.

Sabale’s body has been sent for a post-mortem examination at Nair Hospital. The death comes amid a series of fatal incidents involving BEST buses in the city. At least five people have died in BEST bus-related incidents between May and early September this year.