NEW DELHI, January 15: At least 46 persons were injured when a speeding chartered bus carrying office-goers overturned near the Gol Dakhana this morning.The injured, including 13 women, were rushed to the nearby Ram Manohar Lohia hospital. While 10 passengers suffered fractures, the condition of Rama Devi and another person who received head injuries is serious.
Later in the evening, doctors at RML said that all but nine of the injured had been discharged. And those still under observation, were out of danger.
The driver fled the spot immediately after the accident, but the conductor who received minor injuries was arrested.
The bus, which was plying between Pushpanjali Vihar and the CGO complex, was owned by Chopra Travels. Today, around 55 passengers had boarded the bus.
The incident occurred around 10 a.m.. Eye-witnesses said that after negotiating the roundabout near Gol Dakhana, the bus turned sharply into Mahadev Road. The driver apparently lost control and the vehicle hit the divider before
toppling over. But the momentum was such that the bus, which fell to its left, slid along the road for a few metres before coming to a stop.
Other vehicles screeched to a halt behind the bus and bystanders rushed to the spot to rescue the screaming passengers. The driver was the first to get out, but escaped before the others could react.
Policemen from the Parliament Street and Mandir Marg police stations took charge of the rescue operations and traffic movement on the Mahadev Road-Pant Road intersection was restored in 30 minutes.
Several victims blamed the driver for speeding through the office-hour traffic. They said that the accident occurred within seconds, giving them little time to react.
As a result, many of those who were standing fell on top of the other passengers. Most of the seats on the left hand side were occupied by women. When the bus fell on its left side, they bore the brunt of the accident.
The police said that a case of rash and negligent driving had been registered and efforts
were on to trace the driver. "The accident could have been more serious if the bus had fallen on another car. Fortunately, there were no vehicles around the bus when the incident took place."
Meanwhile, the past 24 hours has witnessed a spurt in the number of accidents in the city. At least four persons were killed in separate accidents. A pedestrian was run over by an identified vehicle in Vasant Vihar, while another unidentified person was knocked down by a speeding vehicle in Nangloi.
In Civil lines, a vendor was crushed under a bus last night. The driver has been arrested and the vehicle impounded. In another incident, a scooterist died when he was hit by a truck in Ashram Chowk. The truck driver has been arrested.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
