Chennai: Student on footboard rams into pillar, dies

Chennai: A school student was killed due to footboard travel in the city on Friday near Vadapalani after the 17-year-old ran himself onto the pillar of a hospital while attempting to board the bus holding onto the window railings. Two of his friends suffered injuries as he pulled them along with him, police said.  The deceased was identified as S. Subash of Nerkundram. He, along with his friends was travelling to their school in Kodambakkam when they met with the accident.

The bus (route no. 27C) plying from Tiruverkadu to T. Nagar had stopped at Ram theatre to board passengers. “Subash was travelling on footboard and had got down to allow passengers to get down,” a police officer said. As the bus began to move, Subash was running holding on to the window rails behind the rear footboard of the bus. The bus had to take a left turn and Subash who was running holding on to the bus failed to notice the pillar on the compound wall of Koncept Hospital in Kodambakkam and ran straight into it. Two of his friends, L. Jeeva and K. Kartik- both from Nerkundram attempted to save him and fell down along with him, sustaining injuries, police said.

The public gathered around the scene and rushed the injured students to a private hospital where he was declared brought dead. Police moved his body to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital for an autopsy. The whole accident was caught on a CCTV camera fitted in the private hospital. Police said that school students travelled on footboard despite several warnings from the conductor. Pondy Bazaar Traffic Investigation wing registered a case under section 304  (A) of IPC (causing death by negligence) against the MTC bus driver Parthiban and arrested him.