Close shave for 35 passengers near Hunsur; driver seriously injured

Hanagodu: Over 35 persons, including regular commuters to Mysuru from Kushalnagar, had a miraculous escape in the wee hours of today when a KSRTC bus they were travelling in collided against a parked truck carrying tree logs.

The incident occurred at Kalbetta near Hunsur at 5 am. The bus (KA-10-F-0035) was proceeding from Kushalnagar to Bengaluru via Mysuru and many office-goers from Kodagu regularly took this bus to reach Mysuru early. The bus belonged to the Hunsur KSRTC Depot. 

Due to mist there was poor visibility and according to passengers, the driver of the bus, Mahadev, was sleepy and was in great speed too. He couldn’t see the parked truck and dashed the bus against it, they said. Due to the impact, front portion of the bus was mangled and apart from the driver who has sustained grievous injuries, many passengers have been injured. The truck (KA-12-A-8311), carrying timber, had broken down forcing the driver to park it on the road.

The impact of the accident was such that the heavy truck was pushed to a few feet ahead by the speeding bus. The truck driver, who was sleeping inside the vehicle, woke up to the thud sound and a sudden jerk. 

He helped a few passengers to alight the bus and the Hunsur Rural Police were informed. Following the early morning accident, traffic was held up on the road for about 30 minutes. Hunsur Rural Inspector Chikkaswamy, who had just returned home after inspecting an accident spot near Hanagodu last night where two persons were killed, rushed to the spot and helped shift the injured and the bus driver to the Hunsur Government Hospital.