Visakhapatnam: It has now been found that the ‘Sri Prakash Vidyaniketan’ school bus which mowed down the convener of INTACH, (Srikakulam district), Dusi Dharma Rao, was in perfect condition. The accident took place on Sunday evening at the Novotel hotel junction on Beach Road in Visakhapatnam, injuring Rao’s police officer son D.N. Kishore, Addl SP of AP SIB, (state intelligence bureau).

It turns out it was only negligence of the driver K. Krishna and assistant driver (cleaner) that led to the mishap. The preliminary investigation by the city traffic police and Road Transport Authority (RTA) has revealed that both the brakes (hand brake and pedal brake) of the mini bus were in good condition. The bus rolled down the incline at a high speed and rammed the parapet wall of the beach road.

ADCP (Traffic) K. Mahendra Patrudu and deputy transport commissioner, Visakhapatnam, S. Venkateswara Rao, said that the mini bus had ferried 25 people, including students and staff of the school, to the Heritage Awards 2016-17, organised by INTACH at Gateway Hotel on the beach road in Visakhapatnam on Sunday evening. After dropping the students and staff at the venue, the driver Krishna parked the mini bus near a hotel, from where he was told to shift the vehicle.

Then the driver parked the bus in front of another hotel, where he was once more told to find another spot. Finally, the driver managed to park his vehicle near an apartment building, after convincing the watchman. The cleaner placed a piece of timber under the rear wheel to make sure the vehicle didn’t move.

There too the driver was told to move from the premises by the apartment residents who said they are unable to park their vehicles. As a result, the driver got into the bus, but he didn’t start it. Without noticing this, the cleaner removed the supporting piece of wood from beneath the tire and the bus rolled down, said the police and RTA officials.

“After the incident, we examined the bus and found that the bus had a valid fitness certificate and the brakes were working. As the vehicle rolled down, the driver Krishna panicked and was unable to start the engine or apply brakes. The driver also failed to apply the hand brake to control the vehicle and the vehicle hit pedestrians at the beach,” said S. Venkateswara.

As per the preliminary investigation, the case seems to be one of negligence by the driver and cleaner. “We will ascertain the facts after we interrogate the driver,” said the police and RTA officials.