TURA: A Tura night bus bound for state capital Shillong was rammed from behind by a speeding truck early Monday morning at Jorabat leading to the death of its driver.
The RIA Travels bus (ML08 B 3811) left Tura on Sunday night and after the usual stopover at Paikan junction in Assam, to allow passengers to have their dinner, proceeded on to Shillong. At around 3:30 early morning, while crossing the inter-state border in Jorabat, the driver, Krishna Hajong (45), stopped the bus and parked it on the side of the road to allow passengers to relieve themselves.
Hajong was standing in front of the bus when a speeding truck dashed against his vehicle from behind. The impact was so powerful that the bus was pushed forward hitting Hajong head on. He was killed on the spot.
The driver and handyman of the truck fled from the scene immediately.
The night bus sustained damaged at its rear end and some of the passengers seated behind received minor injuries.
The Assam highway has been a major accident prone route for the last many years with many lives being lost. Most of the accidents have taken place during the night when drivers of trucks and buses floor the accelerator unconcerned about other commuters using the same road.
