Six persons, including two women, were injured after a Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) bus collided with an Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) bus on a curve on the Vadamadurai Koot Road near Periyapalayam on Sunday night. The MTC driver, R. Satyanaranayan (49), was arrested.
Police said the MTC bus (route number: 580, Avadi to Arani) was returning to Avadi with around 15 passengers while the APSRTC bus was heading towards Tirupati from CMBT. The accident took place around 9.30 p.m. on Sunday amidst heavy rains in the neighbourhood. The injured included S. Venketasan (42) and K. Sekar (40), residents of Adambakkam who were on their way to Tirupathi, K. Rajeshwari (73), who was heading to Pattabiram and S. Palani (45) and G. Lakshmi (50), who were going to Avadi. The APSRTC driver , K. Bullaiah (50) too was injured.
With the help of the villagers, the Periyapalayam police shifted the injured to the Government District Hospital in Tiruvallur. The condition of the injured is stable. “As it was raining, most of us had closed the windows. Suddenly, there was a jerk followed by a loud noise and we realised an accident had taken place,” said Rajeshwari, an injured commuter.
Police officers said the stretch did not have proper streetlights and due to rains, had turned slushy. Further, the MTC driver, who was taking a right turn to get into the national highway, should have anticipated vehicles on the stretch. “As it was raining heavily, the rescue of the injured commuters was quite a challenge,” said K.Srinibabu, inspector, Periyapalayam police.