Eight kids injured as school bus collides with truck

NAGPUR: Eight school children suffered minor injuries on the hand and head while the others escaped with bruises after their bus jumped the signal and collided with a truck at Mangalmurti Square in Trimurti Nagar on Saturday morning.
According to Rana Pratap Nagar police, bus driver Mahesh Singh fled the spot and is still absconding. A case of negligent driving has been registered against him.
The 30-seater bus belonging to the Rai English School management which also runs Jack and Jill kindergarten on Hingna Road was carrying more than 20 students. The bus was heading to Jaitala to pick up more students, while the loaded truck was heading towards Chattrapati Square.
The accident took place at the traffic signal square. The moment the bus driver jumped the signal, the truck driver also accelerated as his signal had turned green. The truck hit the lower right portion of the bus. Students seated near the windows were injured while the others had a lucky escape.
Head constable Ravindra Chamate, who witnessed the accident, said the bus driver panicked and fled, but the truck driver stayed back and rescued the students. "Truck driver Israel Pathan immediately applied the brakes and prevented a tragedy. Pathan also helped the police to take the injured to hospital," said Chamate.
Around 6.45am, Chamate was having tea with his colleagues at the square when he heard the collision and
rushed to the spot. He told TOI that when he reached the spot, he learnt that the bus driver had jumped the signal. "The signal on the school bus side was red while the truck's signal had turned green," said Chamate, who immediately rushed the children to the nearby Matrutva hospital and alerted senior police officials.
Though the school authorities claimed only four students were injured, parents said the number was eight. Four students - Utkarsh Borkar (11), Piyush Verma (12), Alisha Lokhande and one more - were admitted to the hospital and discharged after a few hours.
Four students who suffered minor bruises on their hands and back were administered first aid. Utkarsh, Piyush and Alisha received several stitches on the head, hand and above the eye respectively.
Principal Meena Rai, who reached the spot at 7.30am, said "When we asked the children about the colour of the signal on their side, they said green. I don't know about the cop's version."
With the help of identity cards, cops contacted parents and the school authorities. Another bus was called to take the rest of the students to school.
speakoutnagpur@timesgroup.com