BEST bus runs over woman, 7-year-old son in Wadala

The accident took place near the Wadala church. Police said Anthony was studying in St Joseph’s School in Wadala and his mother had gone to fetch him. They were crossing the street to take a taxi, when the bus ran over them

MUMBAI: Eulogious Selvaraj, 40, had just picked up her seven-year-old son Anthony from school, as heavy rains forced schools and colleges to shut on Monday, when both of them were crushed under a BEST bus while crossing the road. Selvaraj’s daughters Selina, 12, and Agesten, 9, who were also crossing the street with their mother, were spared.

The mother and the son tragically lost their lives after being hit by a BEST bus in the Wadala area on Monday afternoon. (Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

The accident took place near the Wadala church. Police said Anthony was studying in St Joseph’s School in Wadala and his mother had gone to fetch him. They were crossing the street to take a taxi, when the bus ran over them. They are residents of Himmat Nagar, Antop Hill.

Matunga police said they had detained the driver of the bus, number A 174. They said the driver claimed the brakes had failed but the police would get the Regional Transport Office (RTO) to check the bus to verify the driver’s claim. After running over the mother and son, police said the driver grazed a two-wheeler and a tempo.

According to the Matunga police, the BEST driver ran over Selvaraj and her son near Wadala Church around 3pm. “They usually took a bus or a taxi but, due to water-logging, they were unable to find a bus and decided to walk till they got one,” said an officer.

“The driver has been identified as Bapurao Nagbhone, 41. We will be registering an offence under sections 106 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita for causing death by negligence,” said deputy commissioner of police Ragasudha R of Zone 4.

“We want the police to apply stringent sections of the law to the driver. They are very poor and what will happen to the two children,” said Selvaraj’s brother Arogya Das.