A 42-year-old man was killed and 20 were injured after two Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) buses rammed into each other on Tuesday afternoon in the outskirts of Coimbatore. The CCTV visuals of the accident, which have since gone viral, showed a motorbike being dragged by one of the buses before crashing into the other bus.
According to the police, the buses were plying between Mettupalayam and Coimbatore. Around 2.45 pm on Tuesday, as the buses reached Kuttaiyur, 30 km away from Coimbatore, the bus which was going from Coimbatore to Mettupalayam bearing registration number TN 38 N2867, crashed head on with another bus (TN 38 N2973) coming from the opposite direction.
The visuals of the accident, captured in a CCTV camera in a shop near the spot of the accident, showed that the bus which was heading towards Mettupalayam first mowed down a two-wheeler, dragged it for some distance and then rammed head on into the other bus and coming to a halt.
Two TNSTC buses ram into each other on Mettupalayam-Cbe road earlier today. 20 injured. #Coimbatore pic.twitter.com/CtYCnzNRRn
— Megha Kaveri (@meghakaveri) December 24, 2019
The accident injured around 20 people, including the drivers of the two buses, the man who was riding the motorbike and the passengers in the buses. The injured were rushed to government hospitals in Mettupalayam and Coimbatore. Androse (42), a resident of Teachers Colony in Mettupalayam, succumbed to injuries on the way to Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital.
Speaking to TNM, a police officer at the Karamadai police station said that the bus towards Mettupalayam was trying to overtake the motorbike, when the driver lost control of his vehicle and mowed the bike down. “We have registered an FIR under sections 279 (Rash driving or riding on a public way), 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 304A (Causing death by negligence) of the IPC against Babu, the driver of the bus from Coimbatore. He has been injured and is getting treated at Mettupalayam Government Hospital. We will arrest him once the hospital formalities are over,” the officer said.
Attempts by TNM to reach the Managing Director of TNSTC Coimbatore were unsuccessful.