Elderly autorickshaw driver killed as DTC bus rams into multiple vehicles

NEW DELHI: A 63-year-old autorickshaw driver was killed after a Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus allegedly lost control and rammed into many vehicles in east Delhi’s Shakarpur area on Monday morning, an offical said.

According to police, the bus driver, Narender (27), from Noida Sector-63, is suspected to have suffered a medical emergency, leading him to lose control of the vehicle.

The accident occurred around 9 am near the Mangal Bazar red light on Vikas Marg when the DTC bus, allegedly collided with at least six to seven vehicles, including an auto-rickshaw and a car before it came to halt.

“The bus veered off course and crashed into multiple vehicles before finally hitting the auto-rickshaw,” a police officer said. The driver of the autorickshaw, Mohammad Heen suffered critical injuries in the accident and was taken to Hedgewar Hospital, by passersby, where doctors declared him brought dead.

“A PCR call was received at 9.30 am, regarding a road accident near Vikas Marg Mangal Bazar red light. A team from Shakarpur police station reached the spot and found three vehicles -- a DTC bus, an autorickshaw, and a car -- in a damaged condition,” the officer added.

He further said that no injured persons were found at the spot at the time. However, police shortly received information from Hedgewar Hospital that a person injured in the accident has been brought in and declared dead.

The body was preserved for postmortem and his family members were informed. Police have collected the medico-legal case (MLC) report from the hospital and initiated legal proceedings under relevant sections of the law.

Police said efforts are on to verify whether the bus driver suffered a medical emergency at the time of the accident, which will be confirmed after his medical examination and from CCTV footage inside the bus. “A case is being registered, and further investigation is underway. CCTV footage from the area is also being analysed to reconstruct the sequence of events and ascertain liability,” the officer said.

The accident caused brief traffic congestion on Vikas Marg before the damaged vehicles were cleared. Eyewitnesses said a driverless DTC bus hit several vehicles. The auto driver died instantly; the bus driver reportedly suffered a medical emergency.