Speeding BEST bus overturns, kills biker 33 suffer injuries as double-decker tips over while taking a sharp turn at Kalanagar junctionhttp://cdn.epaper.dnaindia.com/EpaperImages//mumbai//07042012//d179970.jpghttp://cdn.epaper.dnaindia.com/EpaperImages//mumbai//07042012//d179970.jpghttp://cdn.epaper.dnaindia.com/EpaperImages//mumbai//07042012//d179970.jpg

Speeding bus overturns, kills biker

33 suffer injuries as double-decker tips over while taking a sharp turn at Kalanagar junction

Motorists at Kalanagar junction signal in Bandra were in for a shock on Friday evening. At 5pm, they saw a speeding double-decker bus on route no 310 plying from Kurla station (West) to Bandra station (East) overturn and crash on a motorcyclist, killing him on the spot. BEST general manager Om Prakash Gupta said driver Jaalinder Dattatray Bhosale was “speeding and miscalculated the right turn at Kalanagar signal while going towards Bandra station”. The bus hit a tree on the road and another on the footpath, before it overturned on its left, crushing a motorcyclist. The victim has been identified as Harish Pillai, who worked in a BPO company at Andheri. The 31-year-old man was due to get married on May 3. Gupta said an immediate compensation of Rs50,000 was announced for the deceased’s family. “A decision on further compensation will be taken later,” he said. Of the 55-60 passengers in the double-decker bus, 31 passengers and the two bus conductors sustained minor injuries. “All injured were treated at Bhabha Hospital in Bandra.” said a BEST spokesperson. One commuter suffered massive head injuries and was transferred to VN Desai Hospital for a CT scan. At least 15 injured commuters were admitted to the hospital, of which six suffered fractures. The rest were discharged after treatment. Five injured commuters shifted to private hospitals against medical advice. Pushpalata Nair, 58, suffered a severe injury on her left hip and fractured her left hand. She fell unconscious and was helped out of the bus by her friend Geeta Sarang, 42, who suffered injuries on her left thigh and head. While Dattaji Dongre, 31, the conductor in the lower deck of the bus, suffered minor injuries, Sachin Sonwane (26), the conductor on the upper deck , suffered severe spinal injury. “It was all so sudden, we could not understand what was happening. I bruised my elbow when I grabbed on to the metal bar,” said Dongre. “A case has been registered against Bhosale and he will be arrested after he is discharged from the hospital,” said Avdhoot Chavan, senior police inspector of Kherwadi police station. Bhosale has been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including causing death due to negligence and rash driving.