Video: BEST bus driver seen collecting backpacks, fleeing after crash
New CCTV footage of the BEST bus accident that killed seven people in Mumbai's Kurla has surfaced, showing driver Sanjay More grabbing two backpacks and jumping out a smashed window after the tragedy. The footage shows passengers panicking as the electric vehicle plowed into cars and pedestrians on a busy roadway on Monday night. The driver has been arrested in connection with the crash.
Driver arrested for culpable homicide
He was arrested for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and put in police custody until December 21. At around 9.30pm on Monday, the bus operated by the civic-run Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking collided with pedestrians and vehicles on the SG Barve Marg, Kurla (West). The collision also injured 42 others, including four policemen on 'bandobast' duty, and destroyed 22 vehicles.
Driver had no experience
BEST suspects that the accident was caused by "human error" and "lack of proper training." According to a report by Regional Transport Office (RTO) officials who investigated the accident, More was inexperienced to drive the automatic transmission bus, which has no clutch and gear like conventional buses, and he was most likely not given proper training before being allowed to drive the 12-meter-long vehicle.
Video of the crash
Driver only underwent a 10-day training
Other reports claim that the driver only underwent a 10-day training for steering EVs. On Wednesday, top officials from BEST and the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) met with private operators who supply buses to government agencies under the wet lease model, and they agreed to focus on driver training and additional safety measures.
