A two-and-half-year-old boy died when the scooter on which he was travelling with his mother was hit by a Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) bus at Kathipara on Grand Southern Trunk Road, on Tuesday afternoon.
The victim, Aaron, who was riding pillion, and his mother Roseline Gayathri, had left their residence in Nanmangalam and were travelling to Butt Road, St. Thomas Mount, when the accident took place. The MTC bus (G70 on the Guduvanchery–Vadapalani route) hit the scooter from behind and in the impact, both of them were thrown off. While Roseline landed on her side on the road and sustained injuries, her son came under the wheels of the bus and died instantly.
The St. Thomas Mount traffic police arrested Selvam, the driver of the bus, and a case was registered under section 304 (a) (causing death by negligence) of the IPC. Further investigations are on.
S.P. Rathinam, a retired inspector of the traffic police, said it was not advisable to have young children seated pillion while travelling long distances, especially on arterial roads during rush hours. “At times, the rider might not even be aware if the child loses his/her grip and falls,” he said.
The only way to avoid accidents was to take children only on short trips on two-wheelers, and make them stand in the front if it was a scooter or have them seated on the petrol tanks of motorcycles, he added.
Officers with the St. Thomas Mount traffic police pointed out that GST Road had become narrow around the Kathipara grade separator owing to Chennai Metro Rail work. There were diversions around the spot, and road users, including MTC bus crew, ignored key traffic signage, they said.
In July, a five-year-old boy came under the wheels of an MTC bus in Pozhichalur, while his mother, carrying him in her arms, was trying to board the bus. She was jostled by commuters who were disembarking the bus, and the boy slipped and fell under the wheels.
