A 58-year-old Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) bus driver died after two motorcycles collided head-on at Moolakadai in Chennai on Friday, police said. The collision also left a 17-year-old school student seriously injured and led to a police investigation into the circumstances of the crash.
The deceased was identified as Jayaraman, a resident of Sagai Nagar in Burma Colony, Kodungaiyur. He was employed as a driver at the MTC depot in Anna Nagar.
According to police, Jayaraman had left his home on his motorcycle to report for duty. He was travelling towards Madhavaram through Moolakadai when another motorcycle allegedly entered the service road from the opposite direction on the wrong side and collided with his vehicle.
Jayaraman suffered severe head injuries in the crash and died at the spot. Personnel from the traffic investigation wing reached the location after receiving information, recovered his body and sent it to a government hospital for an autopsy.
The crash also involved a 17-year-old school student who was travelling on the other motorcycle. The student sustained serious injuries, according to the police account. The youth who was riding the motorcycle that allegedly caused the accident suffered minor injuries and fled the scene, police said.
The incident adds to the risks faced by two-wheeler riders on Chennai’s busy arterial and service roads, where vehicles travelling against the designated direction can create head-on collision hazards. In this case, the police account specifically cited an alleged wrong-side entry onto the service road as the immediate circumstance preceding the crash.
The traffic investigation wing is handling the case. Jayaraman’s body was sent for post-mortem examination, while police were also dealing with the injuries suffered by the surviving riders and tracing the rider who reportedly left the scene.
