Dombivli : Three Dombivli children on their way to school in an autorickshaw sustained injuries when a mini-bus crashed into their vehicle on the Kopar and dragged the vehicle for a distance. The three children, class 2 students of South Indian School, Dombivli, were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. The Vishnunagar police said the driver of the mini-bus, a tempo traveller, has been detained.
The accident took place at about 7am metres away from the school. A parked autorickshaw and a man on a two-wheeler were also hit.
“I was on the Kopar bridge heading and the tempo traveller that was behind suddenly hit my autorickshaw and dragged it towards the school gate. My vehicle ended up hitting another autorickshaw parked at the gate and a biker,” said Pandurang Patil, 55, the auto driver who also suffered minor injuries on his head and hand.
Patil said he jammed the brakes of the autorickshaw and managed to ensure that the children didn’t sustain any major injury.
A Vishnunagar police officer said action is being taken against the driver of the tempo traveller who blamed the accident on the vehicle’s brakes.
“Three students, two boys and a girl, were injured and were rushed to a nearby hospital. They are out of danger. A biker who was also at the spot was also hit and sustained injuries,” the police officer said.
KV Ranganatha, trustee of the school, said the accident took place just outside the school. “As soon as we learned about the incident, our staff rushed to the spot. One thing we have to highlight here is there are no traffic police deployed outside the school during the morning hours when kids come to school. The bridge is just opposite the school and lots of vehicles ply on it. I think there should a traffic cop deployed in case of any such incidents to take control,” he said.
