Karnataka accident: “Tried to control on seeing the truck approaching, but failed”, says bus driver

Nine people were killed in Chitradurga when an overspeeding container truck crossed the divider and rammed a luxury sleeper bus near Hiriyur, triggering a fire. The injured bus driver said he tried to regain control but failed as the truck struck head-on

Chitradurga: The driver of the bus that met with an accident, in which at least nine people were killed in this district on Thursday, said that he tried to control his vehicle on seeing the overspeeding truck approaching from the opposite direction, but couldn’t.

At least nine people were killed when a speeding container truck crashed into a private luxury sleeper bus, which caught fire under the impact, near Hiriyur here at 2 am on Thursday, a senior police official said.

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“The truck came from the other side of the road divider and hit. It was overspeeding. I was maintaining the speed of 60-70 (km/hr) at that time. I saw the vehicle coming from the front. I know only the vehicle (truck) hitting the bus, after that I don’t know what happened and how I was brought out,” Rafiq, the bus driver who is undergoing treatment, told reporters.

He said, “I tried to control the bus, on seeing the vehicle approaching from the opposite direction. My bus even touched the other vehicle, which was moving next to us; I don’t know what vehicle it was. But, couldn’t (control).” Mohammed Sadiq, the cleaner of the bus who is also undergoing treatment with minor injuries, said he was thrown out of the bus due to the impact.

“The truck that was coming from the opposite direction directly rammed the diesel tank. I was in the front of the bus and was asleep when the accident occurred. Due to the impact of the accident, I was thrown out, breaking the glass of the bus,” he said.