Did driver fall asleep at the wheel? Police look into sharp right turn

Closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) footage of the accident on the 140-year-old Shivaji bridge in Kolhapur reveal that the minibus plunged into the

Panchganga

river after its driver had taken a sudden sharp right turn, leading to the death of 13 people on Friday night.

The police were working on several theories, including chances of the driver falling asleep at the wheel, to determine the cause of the accident and why the driver had suddenly turned to the right.

The bridge has been closed for heavy vehicles since the accident.

Twelve members of a Pune family were killed and three others injured when the minibus they were travelling in plunged into the Panchganga river. They were returning from

Ganpatipule

after visiting the famous Ganapati temple there.The bus driver also died in the accident.

An officer with the Karveer police station said, “The CCTV footage shows the bus turning to the right and plunging into the river after breaking through the stone railings. We are studying the vehicle’s movement. We suspect that the driver might have fallen asleep and inadvertently turned the steering of the minibus.”

He added, “It might be also a case of misjudging the distance. He might have thought that he had already crossed the bridge and turned right to take another route.”

The viscera of the driver has been sent to the forensic lab in Pune to ascertain if he was under the influence of alcohol.

The All-Party Action Committee, along with some environmentalists and social activists, said the police should hold government agencies responsible for the accident. Incidentally, various government agencies had opposed construction of the half-finished new bridge.

A delegation of activists met superintendent of police (Kolhapur) Sanjay Mohite on Saturday night, demanding action action against those opposing construction of the new bridge.

R K Powar

, convener of the action committee said, “The police should register cases against the district collector, officials of the

PWD

and the civic body and environmentalists who had opposed the new bridge.”

Mohite said, “A senior police officer will investigate all the objections raised by the committee and submit a report.”