Kasaragod: The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) said that overspeeding and negligence of the driver led to the accident that killed six people at Talapady on NH 66 on Thursday afternoon. In a press statement, KSRTC Managing Director Akram Pasha said the corporation would bear the medical expenses.

The Manjeshwar Police arrested the driver, Nijaligappa Chalavadi, on charges of rash driving (section 281) endangering the lives of others, (125(a)); and causing death by a rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide (106(1)). “Since all three offences are bailable, he is likely to be granted bail at the station itself,” an officer said.

Nijaligappa who has 14 years of experience has been suspended, and a departmental inquiry is underway, said KSRTC officials.

Pasha said that the driver abandoned the bus after it crashed into the first autorickshaw. After that, the driverless bus moved backwards on the sloped road and then swerved 90 degrees to crash into a parked autorickshaw, injuring two others.

The first crash killed six people in the autorickshaw, including its driver and a 10-year-old girl. The deceased were identified as Hyderali (47), Khadeeja (50), Hasna (10), daughter of Sbahul Hameed, Nafeesa (52), and Ayisha Fida (19) — all from Ajjinadka in Kotekar panchayat, Ullal taluk, Dakshina Kannada — and Havamma (60), wife of Abdul Khader from Farangipete in BC Road, Mangaluru.

All the passengers were members of an extended family and were on their way to attend a function at a relative's house in Thuminad in Manjeshwar. Two others, Lakshmi (61) and her son Surendra (39) of Perumbala, Kasaragod, were seriously injured. They were waiting by the roadside for a bus to Kasaragod when the driverless KSRTC bus moving backwards hit them and crashed into the second autorickshaw

"The driver, who was operating the vehicle at excessive speed, applied sudden brakes to avoid hitting an autorickshaw," Pasha said. But the bus collided with the autorickshaw. "Following the impact, the bus swerved sharply and came to a halt. At that moment, the driver fled from the driver’s seat. The bus, moving backwards on the sloped road, rammed into another autorickshaw parked by the roadside and passengers waiting for a bus," the KSRTC MD said.

He said the bus's fitness certificate was renewed on August 26 and put on the Mangaluru-Kasaragod-Mangaluru route on August 27 for the first time. "So no technical fault could have caused the accident," he said and added, "The accident was caused by the driver’s overspeeding and negligence."