A 35-year-old ambulance driver was killed instantly after he lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a median barrier near B.N. Reddy Nagar in Vanasthalipuram police limits, in Hyderabad, early hours on July 25. The victim was identified as Mahesh, a driver at a private hospital in Malakpet.
The incident, the police said, took place at around 4 a.m., when Mahesh, reportedly after dropping a patient at Ibrahimpatnam was proceeding towards the Nagarjunasagar Ring Road. He was about to cross the B.N. Reddy intersection, near the Chaitanya Nagar arch, when the ambulance crashed into the median barrier.
Soon, locals and passersby removed Mahesh, the only occupant in the ambulance, but he had already breathed his last. The victim’s body was taken to the Osmania General Hospital for further procedure.
A freak event that soon followed the scene left residents of Chaitanya Nagar and the early-morning motorists shocked.
Moments after Mahesh’s body was removed from the ambulance that was hanging on the barrier, a spark reportedly caused by the collision spread to the fuel tank. The vehicle already showed the flames spreading.
“And in no time, the two medical oxygen cylinders in the rear unit exploded causing a huge sound in the area. The impact was so much that the glass exterior of at least three nearby buildings was damaged,” the police said. It was not clear if any persons present there were injured.
The ambulance was charred and reduced to its skeleton frame. With the help of an earth mover, the police later cleared the area for normal movement of traffic.
Vanasthalipuram police opened an investigation invoking IPC Section 304A (Causing death by negligence) and under the Motor Vehicle Act S. 183 and 184 (Contravention of speed limits and dangerous driving).
