Six persons were killed and 15 others sustained injuries in an accident involving a State-run bus and a stationary lorry on NH 65 (Vijayawada-Hyderabad) in the wee hours of Sunday here, the police reported.
The APSRTC bus of the Avanigadda depot bound for Hyderabad crashed into a stationary lorry from behind near the Moddula Cheruvu village stop in Munagala mandal, about 160 km from Hyderabad, around 3 a.m.
The police and emergency staff rushed the injured to the Area hospitals at Suryapet and Kodada. Sources at the hospital initially said, “Three were killed, till around 9 a.m.” Casualties as reported by the duty doctor in the evening put the toll at six. The victims were identified as Mathangi Varaprasad (Hyderabad), 63, Thotari Rani (Khammam), 33, Banthi Kutumba Rao (Avanigadda), 60, Gunaganti Sathaiah (Suryapet), 57, M. Murali Prasad, 60, a retired RTC employee, and lorry driver Vemula Edukondalu, 48.
The lorry driver and his assistant who were replacing the flat tire were trapped under the vehicle after the crash. The driver who was stuck for nearly three hours under the vehicle died of blood loss after the heavy equipment fell on him.
“Even I.V. fluids administered to him at the spot couldn’t save him,” Munagala SI Nagesh said. His body was recovered later, by using a crane service.
The police suspect thta the bus was running at a high speed and the driver could have fallen asleep at the wheel.
"It is a negligence by both parties. One, the broken-down lorry did not bear any cautionary signs or parking lamps, and two, the impact of the accident could have been avoided, if the driver had been alert,” Kodad CI G. Ravi said.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Ramana Reddy launched investigation and preliminary cases of negligence were booked.
