3rd BEST death in 4 days: Bus hits senior citizen, traps her beneath in Girgaum

MUMBAI: In the third fatal accident involving a BEST bus and the second one in which a pedestrian died in four days, an 80-year-old woman crossing the road was knocked down and remained trapped under a low-slung bus in Girgaum for at least 15 minutes.
After she was pulled out, Aruna Jadye battled for life for over 3 hours before she was declared dead at a hospital on Wednesday night. The bus was operated by BEST on wet lease.
“This is a serious issue and we are finding out why these accidents are recurring and what could be the corrective measures,” BEST general manager Vijay Singhal said. “If there is some irresponsibility on behalf of wet lease operators, we will take strict action. ”
Jadye was returning home after exchanging a book from alibrary when the bus rammed into her. As it was a low-floor bus, she was trapped under it and could be pulled out only when the bus was lifted with the help of a car jack given by a taxi driver, said a BEST official.
Hit by bus 25m from home, ex-teacher doesn’t make it
In the third such incident in four days, an 80-yearold woman died in a mishap involving a BEST bus. An official said Aruna Jadye was trapped under the bus and sustained serious i njuries on the chest, with her ribs bearing the brunt of the m ishap. While the incident occurred around 5. 50pm in Girgaum, she was declared dead in hospital at 9. 38pm.
Jadye, a retired teacher, was just 20 to 25 metres from home when the accident happened, said her son.
“My mother would read books and would exchange books from a nearby Marathi library. On Wednesday evening, she had gone to exchange books and was walking home when the accident took place,” Sachidanand (54), her son, said. He said his mother was a teacher at Seva Sadan Girls’ High School and retired in January 2001 as a superintendent teacher. “She was fit and would cook at home,” he said.
The police slapped an FIR against the driver, Sandeep Parab (47), unde r Section 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and Section 304A (causing death by negligence) of the IPC. The police were y et to arrest Parab. He was driving the bus from Ballard Pier to Sion bus station on route 66.
Earlier, on Tuesday morning, a 33-year-old pedestrian was fatally knocked down by a bus in Borivli (East). On Sunday, a 48-year-old woman riding pillion died under the rear tyre of a BEST bus in Dadar after the two-wheeler that her husband was riding was rammed from behind.
Sachidanand said he had just returned home from physiotherapy, which he was undergoing after an accident six months ago that forced him into unpaid leave, when he learnt about his mother’s acci-dent having happened at a place that was a stone’s th row from home.
“I had sustained a fracture in my knees and went for physiotherapy,” he said. “I had just returned home after thephysiotherapy when a person known to me told me about the accident. ”
He said his m other had undergone a spine operation in August 2020 and recovered. “She was v ery active,” he said.