An 18-month-old girl who had been injured in an accident in Tumakuru district died en route to NIMHANS in the city as the ambulance she was being rushed in got slowed down due to traffic on the Nelamangala–Goraguntepalya stretch on Thursday night.
Sources said the child, Huda Kausar, was being carried by her mother, Ruksana, on a bike which her father, Ahmed, was riding. A car rammed into the bike near Tiptur on Thursday evening, sources said.
While the couple escaped with minor injuries, the baby sustained head injuries. The couple first went to a hospital in Tiptur where the doctors referred them to the Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences hospital. Doctors in the Hassan hospital advised them to rush to NIMHANS in Bengaluru as the child’s condition was critical.
The couple rushed from Hassan towards Bengaluru in an ambulance at 7.45 p.m. The ambulance driver, Madhusudhan, said he flashed messages on several WhatsApp groups of ambulance drivers on the route, who ensured he was given traffic clearance, including at toll booths, till he reached Nelamangala. “Once we reached Nelamangala, there was no alternative road and there was traffic and we slowed down. The baby’s condition got critical by the minute. So, as soon as we entered the city, we rushed to a private hospital on the highway. However, by then she had passed away and the doctors declared her dead. I wish there was no traffic as I entered the city,” Mr. Madhusudhan told media persons, even as the couple broke down.
“We had no information that such an ambulance was making its way into the city. If we were informed of the emergency situation, we would have ensured a fast passage for the vehicle. We checked CCTV camera footage as well. There was no traffic jam and they have taken less than nine minutes from when they entered the city before reaching the hospital,” said Kuldeep Kumar R. Jain, DCP (Traffic West), Bengaluru.
