A PMP bus accident on Pune’s Pune-Satara Road injured eight passengers after the driver reportedly lost control while braking to avoid an elderly woman on the BRT route near Shankar Maharaj Math on Monday afternoon. Two of the injured passengers were reported to be in serious condition and were receiving hospital treatment.
The bus was travelling from Kothrud towards Katraj when the driver saw an elderly woman approaching from the front through the BRT corridor, according to information provided by police. The driver applied the brakes to avoid her, but the bus went out of control and crashed into the Ahilyadevi bus stop.
The impact injured five women and three men travelling on the bus. The report said some passengers lost teeth and others suffered injuries to their lips. Passengers waiting at the bus stop were not injured, according to the available information.
The crash occurred at around 4.15pm near the bus stop close to Shankar Maharaj Math. The vehicle was operating on the Kothrud-Katraj route, which uses the BRT corridor along Pune-Satara Road. The incident brought attention to the risks faced by passengers and pedestrians where buses, dedicated bus lanes and people moving around bus stops share a constrained urban space.
Police from the Sahakarnagar police station took the driver and conductor into custody after the crash. The police were continuing the process of registering a case late on Monday night. The available report did not provide details of the driver’s identity, the exact speed of the bus or the names of the hospitals where the injured passengers were being treated.
The account supplied by the police indicates that the immediate trigger was the driver’s attempt to avoid the elderly woman. It also establishes that the bus struck the bus stop after the driver lost control during sudden braking. Further details about the circumstances of the crash, including the condition of the bus, the road surface and the conduct of the pedestrian, were not available in the report.
The incident has separate implications for bus passengers inside the vehicle and pedestrians using the corridor. Although people waiting at the stop escaped injury in this case, the collision with the bus-stop structure underscores the exposure of roadside passenger facilities when a large vehicle leaves its intended path. The report did not state whether the bus stop suffered structural damage.
Police proceedings against the driver and conductor were under way at the time of publication. A formal case registration and further investigation are expected to establish the sequence of events and determine responsibility for the crash.
