Eighteen persons, mostly women workers, were injured, after a private company bus they were travelling in, hit a stationery container lorry from the rear, near the Walajah toll gate in Ranipet on the Chennai - Bengaluru Highway (NH 44) on Thursday, May 16, 2024.
The bus was heading from Vellore town after picking 22 staff members, and was headed to a private mobile phone manufacturing unit in Sunguvarchatram near Sriperumbudur town in Kanchepuram. The accident occurred around 6 a.m.
Police said the bus driver R. Dinesh (25), while trying to avoid hitting a two-wheeler rider, lost control of the vehicle and hit the parked container lorry on the carriageway. In the impact, the front of the bus, including its windshield was completely damaged.
Local residents and motorists immediately rescued the injured commuters and the bus crew. They also alerted the Kaveripakkam police and 108 ambulances. The injured persons were taken to the Government Taluk Hospital in Walajah town. Doctors at the hospital said all injured persons sustained minor injuries and were out of danger.
A case has been registered by the police.
Later in the morning, Minister for Handlooms and Textiles, R. Gandhi, who is also MLA for Ranipet assembly constituency, along with Ranipet Collector S. Valarmathi, met the injured persons at the hospital and directed health officials to provide necessary care to them, hospital officials said.
