Close shave for kids as school bus hits SUV

It was a close shave for 20 school students of Podar International School on Thursday morning, when the driver of the bus they were travelling in allegedly dozed off and rammed into an oncoming SUV at Milan Subway in Santa Cruz. The Santa Cruz police have arrested the driver.

According to the police, around 6.50 am near Milan mall, two autorickshaws and an SUV collided when the driver of the SUV, Neetu Bhagchandani, applied brakes as the bus driver, Rajeev Vishwakarma, hit the SUV. The students were on their way to school when the incident took place.

"The driver was driving rashly and dozed off on the wheel leading to the accident. As a result, the two autos and the SUV collided. The students, however, were not hurt," said a police officer.

"The bus driver was arrested under sections 279 (rash driving) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code and under relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act," said the officer.

Dr Vandana Lulla, Principal, Podar International, said, "All the kids are safe and have attended school. The collision took place in the morning when the car stopped immediately on the slope."