Bike ride back from late-night coffee ends in fatal accident near Manasagangothri

Mysuru: A 19-year-old student was killed on the spot in a tragic late-night accident near the Manasagangothri Open Air Theatre when the Bullet bike he was riding collided head-on with a heavy-duty crane coming from the opposite direction.

The impact was so severe that the bike’s front portion was completely shattered and the victim’s body was torn apart beyond recognition. The pillion rider was thrown to the side of the road, hitting a kerb stone and escaped with injuries. He is currently recuperating at a private hospital.

The deceased has been identified as M.H. Shiva, alias Shivakumar, son of Hanumantha Shetty, a resident of Vidyaranyapuram. He was pursuing his second year of BCA at Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering.

The injured pillion rider is Dinesh, a second-year B.Com student of Sapient College, originally from Bengaluru and residing in a rented house at Kuvempunagar.

According to the Police, at around 11 pm, Shiva and Dinesh had gone to a café on Kalidasa Road on Shiva’s Bullet bike (KA-01-JU-8932) for coffee and were returning to Kuvempunagar to drop Dinesh. After crossing Paduvarahalli (Vinayakanagar) towards Bogadi Road, they headed on Manasagangothri Road.

At around 11.25 pm, near the second gate of the Open Air Theatre — a stretch with a steep gradient — Shiva, while riding at high speed, attempted to overtake a car. In doing so, he failed to notice a heavy-duty crane (KA-01-MH-2402) approaching from the opposite side.

The crane, with only a small light, was barely visible due to the slope. As Shiva completed the overtaking manoeuvre, the bike crashed into the crane’s heavy iron portion.

The high-speed collision killed Shiva instantly, leaving his body unrecognisable. The bike was reduced to mangled metal, its fuel tank ruptured, spare parts spread on the road, spilling petrol and oil. Pillion rider Dinesh was flung to the roadside, where he struck a kerb stone. Police rushed him to a private hospital at V.V. Mohalla for treatment.

V.V. Puram Traffic Inspector Lava and his team reached the scene, shifted Shiva’s body to Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMC&RI) for post-mortem and registered a case.

Traffic at the Open Air Theatre Road was blocked for some time by the Police to clear the mangled remains of the bike and the oil spill. Both vehicles have been seized and an investigation is on.