Student dies in Metro Bus accident in Rawalpindi

Driver arrested and booked for manslaughter and rash driving


Arsalan Altaf April 28, 2017
Police say there was construction material lying on the track and the driver had to hit the brakes immediately. PHOTO: INP

ISLAMABAD: A medical student was run over by the Metro Bus she was riding in on Friday on an under-repair portion of the track near Rehmanabad station in Rawalpindi. Police have arrested the driver and booked for manslaughter and rash driving.

A police officer said the bus' side mirror struck a pole and shattered one of its windows. Nineteen-year-old Sumera fell out of the broken window and was run over by the bus' rear tyre.

"The accident took place at around 7:25 am," Sadiqabad Sub-Inspector Amanat Ali told The Express Tribune.

Dumper crushes two bikers to death  

"There are reports that there was construction material lying on the track and the driver, who was unaware of this, had to hit the brakes immediately," he added.

The driver, identified as Shahid Iqbal, escaped after the accident. However, the Sadiqabad police arrested him and filed a case against him on charges of manslaughter and rash driving on the complaint of the victim’s family. Sumera was studying at a private medical university.

Former Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MNA Hanif Abbasi, who is the chairman of the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro Bus Project, told The Express Tribune that Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif had formed a committee to probe into the student’s death.

Two children killed among five on ICI Bridge

“It's an unfortunate incident. We will take every step possible to ensure that this does not happen again,” he added.

To a question about the unannounced repair work on the metro bus track that could have been responsible for the accident, Abbasi said it was under way for the past six or seven months and it had never caused any issue. "The accident was caused by the driver’s negligence."

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ