Pune: A serious accident was narrowly avoided when a concrete dumper almost crashed into a school bus carrying 10 to 15 children on Wagholi-Lohgaon Road early in the morning on Wednesday (September 25).
The incident, which was captured on CCTV, took place around 7:30 AM near the Green Republic Society. The bus, from Kothari International School in Kharadi, was picking up children when it nearly collided with a speeding dumper.
As the bus was leaving the society and had reached halfway across the road, a dumper coming from the direction of Lohegaon at high speed suddenly appeared.
The dumper driver managed to avoid a full-on collision by steering off the road, but not before grazing the front of the bus. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and the children remained unharmed. Only the front part of the bus was damaged.
Eyewitnesses rushed to the scene, fearing the worst, but were relieved to see that all the children were safe. The quick reflexes of the dumper driver, despite his speed, helped avoid what could have been a catastrophic accident.
The residents immediately informed the police, and Assistant Police Inspector Gajanan Jadhav from the Lonikand Traffic Division arrived to investigate the situation.
While the accident did not result in injuries, society members were angered by the reckless driving of both the bus and the dumper drivers. They called for strict action against the drivers to prevent future incidents.
Kailas Bawne, President of Green Republic Society, said, "The Wagholi-Lohgaon Road is narrow and congested, and the reckless speeding of dumpers is a constant danger. It’s essential to impose speed regulations on these vehicles, and the road urgently needs to be widened."
Attempts to reach Kothari International School for comment were unsuccessful. Though contacted twice by Sakal Media Group journalist, the school had not responded as of the time of reporting.
