Hanagodu: Over 35 passengers had a providential escape this morning when a KSRTC bus in which they were travelling collided with a tipper near Bilikere Bus Stop.

The impact of the accident was such that the tipper overturned and the bus driver was thrown out of the bus while an alert passenger sat on the driver’s seat and steered the fast-moving bus from a busy road to a sloped area preventing further collisions. However, one woman, who was seriously injured in the accident, died.

Nine injured passengers are admitted to K.R. Hospital and over 10 passengers have sustained minor injuries.

The incident occurred at around 9.30 am on the Hunsur-Mysuru Main Road. The KSRTC bus (KA-09 F-5118) was proceeding towards Mysuru from Periyapatna and the jelly stone-laden tipper (KA-42 A-8419) was coming towards Hunsur from Mandya.

The bus was to take a turn near Mallinathapura to enter the newly constructed Bilikere Bus Stop. Eyewitnesses said that the speeding bus driver, Mallikarjuna, suddenly took a turn to enter the bus stop and failed to see the speeding tipper from the opposite side. The two vehicles collided head-on and the tipper overturned and veered off the road.

Due to the impact of the accident, the bus driver was catapulted out of the driver’s door and the bus kept on moving. Seeing this, an alert passenger Ravandur Ramesh sprang from his seat and sat on the driver’s seat to steer the bus off the main road that was busy with rush-hour traffic. He drove the bus into a sloped area and stopped there.

All the glasses of the bus broke and over 20 passengers sustained injuries and have been shifted to K.R. Hospital in Mysuru. Three passengers suffered serious injuries and one among them Suneira Banu died at the hospital.

Suneira Banu (32), daughter of Nasrulla Sharief, hails from Boganahalli Village near Periyapatna and works as a staff nurse at Motherhood Hospital in Bengaluru. Family members said that she had come home over the weekend and was supposed to report to duty today morning. Before joining the Motherhood Hospital, Suneira Banu worked as a nurse at K.R. Hospital for five years.

When the passengers realised that their lives were saved by Ravandur Ramesh, they thanked him for his presence of mind.

Eyewitnesses told Star of Mysore that after the Bilikere Bus Stand was constructed, the authorities laid two road humps at Mallinathapura to prevent speeding of vehicles, especially KSRTC buses that have to take a turn to enter the bus stand.

They said that some people went to Court against the laying of humps and the Court ordered their removal. Later, a strip of small speed-breakers (15 humps) were set up but that too were removed. This has made bus drivers turn their vehicles in the same speed as they move on the road without paying attention for vehicles that come from the other side, said residents.

The injured are Jayaram (55) of Adaganahalli village, Mallige (40) of Makodu village, Sachin (17), Samanth (28), driver Mallikarjuna (25), Manjula (27), Lakshmi (36), Jyothi (38) and Shrimathi (42). KSRTC Divisional Traffic Officer Srinivas visited the K.R. Hospital and gave away immediate compensation of Rs. 15,000 to the dead and the injured.

Bilikere Police have registered a case.

Hunsur Inspector K.C. Poovaiah, DySP Bhaskar Rai and Bilikere Sub-Inspector Mahadeva Nayak visited the spot and conducted a mahazar.

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