Vijayawada: “The driver refused to stop the bus saying he had vast experience and could manage any speed,” final year MBBS student P. Sai Kiran Reddy, who was in the bus said.
He added, “While the argument was going on between the medicos and the driver, he veered the bus off the road to avoid crashing into a road median, and hit a tree. Those standing in the aisle of the bus and the driver were killed on the spot.”
“It was the negligence of the driver who deliberately veered the bus over the argument,” said house surgeon Azmeer Balaji in his complaint to the police. The bus driver had earlier been questioned about theft of the students’ gadgets.
Read: Vijayawada accident: Medical students sought new driver
“The bus cleaner stole four smart phones and a wallet when we had halted at Haailand. We questioned the bus driver about the missing items and he pushed the blame on him. He assured that he would get back the gadgets and the cleaner turned up with only two mobile phones near PNBS at 8.30 pm. As we questioned him, he revealed that the driver had asked him to do so,” said the complainant.
Meanwhile, the condition of two students — Rajesh and Sujeet — among the eight admitted in ICU, is critical. The rest are stable. A case was registered under Sections 304(a), 338 and 337 against the bus driver.
Read: 4 students killed, several injured in road accident near Vijayawada
Meanwhile, Telangana health minister P. Laxma Reddy rushed to Vijayawada. He said the TS government would bear the medical expenses of the injured students. Chief Ministers of AP and TS N. Chandrababu Naidu and K. Chandrasekhar Rao, expressed grief over the accident.
Shifting of injured delayed
Parents of the injured students were forced to travel all the way to Vijayawada on Tuesday due to the delay in shifting them to Hyderabad. Though the accident took place at 11 pm , it was reported to the police at 1 am on Tuesday.
Read: Vijayawada accident: Students upset over missing teacher
The injured students were admitted to Andhra Hospitals at Bhavanipuram, which provided immediate treatment. Telangana government authorities later arrived at the hospital and oversaw the treatment at the hospital.
The 23 medicos who had received minor injuries were discharged only on Tuesday evening while eight others are still in ICU. One of them is required to undergo surgery.
Telangana director of Medical Education Dr M. Ramani said that efforts were on to shift the injured. “The treatment being given here is satisfactory and all facilities are available as of now. If advanced treatment is required, the government will shift them to OGH,” she said.
