A 13-year-old schoolboy was mowed down by a rashly-driven MTC bus moments after he alighted the vehicle at Otteri on Saturday evening.
S Vignesh (13), son of a labourer, Shankar of Canal First Street in Kannigapuram, Pulianthope, was returning home from school when the incident occurred.
Vignesh usually hailed an auto to commute to and from school, his parents said.
“Even though we could not afford it, we paid Rs 700 for the auto. In case the auto did not turn up, he would call me to pick him up. This is the first time he took a bus by himself. He didn’t even know the routes,” his mother Varalakshmi told Express.
On Saturday, he chose to board an MTC bus (route 7B) to get home after the regular auto driver did not pick him up after school. Vignesh alighted near Strahans Road at Otteri.
Just as Vignesh started walking home, the rear end of the bus, which was negotiating a turn on the same road, hit the boy, police said. Vignesh, who sustained a head injury, died on the spot, police said.
Anticipating trouble, bus driver Rajasekaran (32) of Nammalvarpet, Otteri, stopped the vehicle and took to his heels, only to be arrested by traffic policemen.
A case under IPC sections 304A (causing death by negligence) and 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) was subsequently registered by police.
Meanwhile, Vignesh’s parents rushed to his school in search of their son as he did not return home at the usual time. Later, they learnt of their son’s death through the police, who identified the victim with the help of his school ID card.Vignesh has two siblings, Keerthana and Gayathri. Children in the neighbourhood, who were seen waiting in front of Vignesh’s house, said he always stood first in his class.
“We could not afford great food, but we made him study in a good school and sent him in an auto. I packed him lunch and sent him to school, but he returned as a dead body,” Varalakshmi said.
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