MUMBAI: CCTV camera footages on-board the BEST bus that mowed down seven persons in Mumbai’s Kurla area show the driver Sanjay More collecting two backpacks from the cabin and jumping out of a broken window after the accident. The four to five video clips with a duration of 50 seconds to 1.04 seconds went viral on social media on Wednesday.
The visuals show passengers panicking as the electric vehicle ran amok hitting vehicles and pedestrians on Monday night on a busy street in Kurla (west). Some passengers tried to tightly grip the poles and grab handles, while others rose from their seats to fathom what was happening on the streets as the bus moved forward.
After the bus swerved to a halt, several passengers jumped out of the shattered windows. A clip shows Sanjay More coming out of the bus cabin holding two black backpacks, and jumping out of a broken window on the left side of the bus.
The bus conductor got down from the rear side door. The out-of-control electric bus operated by the civic-run BEST undertaking rammed into pedestrians and vehicles at around 9.30 pm on Monday on the SG Barve Marg in Kurla West.
Besides killing seven persons and injuring 42 others, including four policemen on ‘bandobast’ duty, the accident also wrecked 22 vehicles. The bus driver was arrested for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. He was remanded in police custody till December 21.
According to details that have emerged so far, More had no experience in driving electric vehicles and had undergone only a ten-day training for steering EVs.