Hyderabad: Toddler, left unattended by mom, run over by school bus

HYDERABAD: An 18-month-old baby girl, who was left unattended for a brief period by her mother, was run over by her brother's school bus at Bongulur on the outskirts of the city on Monday morning. After the accident, police arrested bus driver Sattaiah.

The victim, B Prateeka, was the daughter of Armed Reserve (AR) constable B Venkatesh and Chandana, a housewife, from Sri Sri Antahpuram Colony in Bongulur. Prateeka's elder brother Prajwal is a nursery student of Sahiti Vidyalaya school in Bongulur, Adibhatla sub-inspector (SI) M Mohan Reddy said.

Around 8.20 am, Chandana, Prajwal and Prateeka were waiting near their house for the school bus. "After the bus arrived, Chandana helped Prajwal get into the bus as the aaya (helper) was on leave. As Chandana was busy handing over Prajwal his school bag, she did not notice Prateeka walking in front of the bus," the SI said.

"The bus driver did not notice the toddler too and started the vehicle. The girl was crushed under the left front and rear tyres. She died on the spot," the SI added.

After the mishap, the driver abandoned the vehicle and fled from the spot. Angry villagers staged a protest demanding his immediate arrest.