A woman and her one-and-a-half-year old child were killed while another woman was injured when the two-wheeler they were riding on was hit by a bus in Selaqui area on Wednesday.
According to sources, Vikasnagar resident 24-year-old Alka and her daughter Aradhya were riding pillion with 24-year-old Ritu from Vikasnagar towards Dehradun. At about 12:45 pm, their two-wheeler was hit from behind by a bus being driven in the same direction.
The bus ran over the trio who had fallen on the road, killing Aradhya on the spot while Alka died later during treatment in the Doon Hospital.
The driver abandoned the bus and ran away from the accident site while the local residents assembled at the spot in Selaqui blocking traffic on the road while raising slogans against the authorities. The protesting locals blamed the authorities for failing to mitigate road accidents. The police reached the site and later cleared the road to resume traffic.
Based on a complaint lodged by the victim’s family member, a case will be registered under sections 304a, 279/338 of IPC against unidentified bus driver in the Sahaspur police station, said Vikasnagar police circle officer SK Singh. While the bus was seized, a police team was also formed to nab the bus driver, he added.
It should be mentioned here that factors like rash driving, drunk driving, overloading and other violations of traffic regulations continue to cause accidents involving varied vehicles in different parts of the State.
Observers point out that the police efforts have been focused mainly on penalising traffic offenders which alone has not been effective enough to mitigate mishaps.
The authorities need to enforce traffic regulations stringently in addition to raising public awareness on road safety, they add.