9 hours ago
Drunk UPSRTC driver mows down woman in Mohanlalganj
Lucknow: A woman died and a man sustained serious injuries after a speeding UPSRTC bus, driven under the influence of alcohol, mowed them down in Mohanlalganj area on Sunday morning.
The out-of-control bus also rammed into a roadside grocery shop after breaking an electric pole.
The incident occurred around 8 am near Bindauwa cut on the Lucknow-Raebareli national highway. The bus (UP33CT2331), belonging to the Rae Bareli depot and en route to Lucknow, hit 50-year-old cyclist Umesh Goswami and 38-year-old pedestrian Ramdevi. Both were critically injured and rushed to a local CHC, from where they were referred to KGMU Trauma Centre.
Ramdevi later succumbed to her injuries.
Ramdevi, a resident of Ganeshganj Bindauwa, was walking alongside the highway when the mishap occurred. Umesh, also from Bindauwa, remains in critical condition. The impact of the crash was so severe that the bus smashed an electric pole before ploughing into the closed grocery shop owned by Santosh Maurya, causing damage worth around Rs 5,000. Fortunately, the shop was closed at the time, averting further casualties.
Eyewitnesses reported panic and chaos as passengers onboard fled after the crash. Approximately 20 passengers exited the bus immediately. Police reached the scene, arranged for alternate transportation for stranded commuters, and towed the damaged bus off the road.
Both the driver and conductor were taken into custody. Police confirmed that the driver was under the influence of alcohol, and a medical examination is underway. Ramdevi's body was sent for post-mortem, and her family was informed.
"Had the shop been open, the toll could have been much higher," said ACP, Mohanlalganj, Rajneesh Kumar.
