Woman falls off bus after driver refuses to stop for toilet break

MADURAI: A 28-year-old woman sustained serious injuries after falling off a moving bus while waiting in vain for the driver to stop to let her relieve herself. The woman is undergoing treatment at the Government Rajaji Hospital.

Sources said that Pandiammal, a resident of Idayankulam village under the Srivilliputtur block of Virudhunagar district, was a helper at a palkova manufacturing unit in her village. She is married to J Chellathurai (32), an auto driver, and is a mother of two.  On Sunday morning, Pandiammal, Chellathurai and their elder son went to Kumananthozhu in Theni district to visit her convalescing father. The same evening, the family boarded a Sengottai-bound TNSTC from Theni bus stand.

“While the bus was in Suppilapuram, around 6.20 pm, she complained of an upset stomach and wanted to go to the loo. I repeatedly requested the driver to pull over. However, he kept refusing, saying he would not stop in the middle of nowhere and would stop only in Alagapuri, which was 10 minutes away. This led to a verbal duel between him and I,” recalled the husband. Pandiammal said, “As the two were arguing, I was standing on the top tier of the footboard, waiting for the driver to stop. When the bus took a sharp turn at the Alagapuri checkpost around 6.30 pm, I felt dizzy and fell off the bus unconscious.”

She suffered a severe head injury and minor injuries on both her arms and right shoulder.  She was admitted to the Srivilliputtur GH and later shifted to GRH in Madurai. “Had the driver stopped the bus, we would have taken another bus from the location to our village, in case he was not willing to wait,” Chellathurai said.