Mumbai e-way crash: Driver who illegally parked bus for 10 hours held

Gurugram Police on Friday arrested a 30-year-old bus driver who allegedly left his vehicle parked illegally on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway for more than 10 hours without switching on hazard lights or placing warning signs, resulting in a crash that killed a couple and their five-year-old daughter and injured their two other children early Thursday.

The driver was identified as Hari Ram, a resident of Khoda Chauhan village in Rajasthan’s Alwar district.

Police said the bus developed a mechanical fault around 5pm on Wednesday, following which Ram parked it on the extreme left of the carriageway near the cloverleaf interchange connecting the expressway to the Sohna elevated road. He then left in search of a mechanic.

Investigators said Ram returned to the bus around 11pm after having dinner at a nearby eatery and slept inside the vehicle. However, after a car crashed into the stationary bus around 3.15am on Thursday, he fled the spot, abandoning the vehicle.

Police said Ram had neither switched on the hazard lights nor placed warning signs behind the bus to alert approaching motorists. The vehicle also lacked reflective tape that could have made it more visible from a distance.