New Delhi:
An alert Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus driver on Tuesday saved lives of several people by crashing his vehicle into a park wall to avoid a collision with an autorickshaw in central Delhi, police said.
Driver Kali Das hit the park wall around Mandi House around 3.15 p.m. He was driving a bus running on route number 73 between Hari Nagar and Anand Vihar.
The driver hinted that the bus brakes had malfunctioned. DTC officials however claimed it was not a brake failure.
"In order to avoid collision with an autorickshaw, the driver took the bus straight into the roundabout. Das got panicked after the incident. So, he fumbled and said that the brakes had failed. Later, he told us that the brakes did not fail. He only wanted to prevent a collision with the TSR," said Manohar Lal, manager, public relations, DTC.
Lal added that no technical problem was found when the bus was examined after the incident.
The incident took place when the bus was on way to Anand Vihar bus depot from Connaught place on the Feroz Shah Road.
"After crossing a red light, I applied brakes to slow the bus. Suddenly, I realised that the brake liver were not working and an auto rickshaw was just on the right side of the bus as I approached the Mandi House roundabout. I tried pushing the brake lever thrice but it was of no use," said the driver.
Das said he alerted all the passengers, asked them not to panic and move towards the rear.