The Hindu : Front Page : Wheels of MTC bus come apart

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 05, 2007
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Wheels of MTC bus come apart

Staff Reporter

— Photo: K. V. Srinivasan

scary SIGHT: The MTC bus and its rear wheels stand apart on Kamarajar Salai on Sunday.

CHENNAI: A drive down Kamarajar Salai is usually a pleasant experience, but a car driver had a very scary experience on Sunday.

He was enjoying the drive thanks to the cloudy weather and the scanty traffic, when he got the shock of his life — the rear wheels of an MTC bus came speeding towards his vehicle near the Kannagi statue junction.

“It was a frightening sight. I was driving behind the bus when I saw it swerve to the right. Then the wheels came off, and the bus collapsed with a loud noise. I heard the passengers scream and scramble to get off the bus,” he said. No one was injured. The accident branch of the MTC and the wireless control room were unaware of the incident when contacted around 1 p.m.

But when The Hindu contacted the depot the bus belonged to, an official said it had been brought back to the depot.

A senior MTC official said the bus was travelling very fast.

The driver slammed the brakes after a two-wheeler darted across, and this resulted in the propeller shaft hitting the ground repeatedly. The speed of the vehicle and the force at which the brakes were applied resulted in the wheels breaking loose from the bus.

The official denied that the incident was caused by faulty maintenance, and said the driver was responsible.

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