A 14-year-old girl, who was returning home after writing her last exam of Class IX, was killed while a biker and another woman pedestrian escaped narrowly when a speeding garbage truck knocked them down in front of Hebbal police station on Monday afternoon.
The deceased has been identified as Akshaya, daughter of Narasimha Murthy and Geetha. The family hails from Kolar and was residing in Vishwanatha Nagenahalli.
According to the police, the incident occurred around 12.45 p.m. when the girl was crossing the road opposite Hebbal underpass to return home. It is alleged that water logging in the underpass due to heavy rain on Sunday evening had forced pedestrians to cross the busy road.
The driver of the garbage truck heading towards Airport Road hit the girl and crashed into a bike and car. The bike rider, a private company employee, escaped with injuries, while Akshaya died on the spot as she came under the rear wheel. Another woman pedestrian, identified as Soumya (40), was also injured and they were shifted to a private hospital in Hebbal and are recovering, the police added.
The truck also collided with a cab before coming to a halt. The driver escaped, leaving the truck behind, but was later arrested.
Based on a complaint by girl's father, a case has been registered in RT Nagar traffic police station. The RT Nagar traffic police arrested the driver, Manjunath, 35, on charges of reckless driving and death due to negligence for further investigations.
Murthy alleged that there was water logging in the underpass due to heavy rain on Sunday evening and pedestrians were not able to use the underpass. This forced Akshaya, along with two women, to cross the main road when the truck driver, who was overspeeding, lost control and hit his daughter and two other vehicles, he said.
An officer from Hebbal police station said that the staff had complained to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) control room about the water logging early morning, but no one came to clear the water. The police are contemplating booking a case against BBMP officials concerned for their negligence.
The spot where the student was mowed down is yards away from a skywalk and a pedestrian underpass. The BBMP, which is the custodian of roads and footpaths in the city, claims that both the underpass and skywalk, which is equipped with lift, is used by citizens. Around six months ago, home guards were posted at pedestrian underpasses that are actively used in the city, including the one at Hebbal junction.
After inspecting the spot with Additional Chief Secretary of Urban Development Department and administrator Rakesh Singh, BBMP’s chief commissioner Gaurav Gupta said that the signal free corridor witnesses heavy density of vehicular movement, nearly 30,000 PCU (passenger car units) per hour. The median is also very high – around 4 ft – to prevent surface crossing by pedestrians.
“The traffic police are looking at CCTV footage. BBMP will also take stringent action against officials concerned in case of any negligence,” he said.
Admitting that there was some amount of water stagnation in the underpass, he said the home guards deputed at the spot had informed civic officials that the underpass was being used. The water had been cleared from the underpass, he claimed.
Meanwhile, the Solid Waste Management (SWM) Cell officials stated that the truck that was involved in the accident had come from Hombegowdanagar. “It is a private truck that was working for the BBMP. However, there is no insignia of BBMP on the truck,” a senior civic official told The Hindu.
