Reckless driving: Seven killed, 21 injured in two accidents

College students in Jhang vandalise transport company office, shopping mall over college fellow’s death.


Express December 08, 2011

MULTAN/JHANG:


Seven people were killed in two road accidents in Multan and Jhang on Thursday.


At least six people were killed and 20 injured in a collision between a speeding mini-bus and a tractor-trolley on Sarwar Shahid Chowk on Thursday morning.

The condition of one of the four injured under treatment at Nishtar Hospital was described by doctors as critical. They said the remaining were expected to be discharged in a few days.

Two of the deceased were identified as sisters Zartasha and Sonia, both students at Bahauddin Zakariya University in Multan. The others included the bus driver and a sub inspector.

Witnesses said the mini-bus collided with the trolley in a bid to overtake another mini-bus it was racing against. They said such races were commonplace among mini-bus drivers in the area and that police had failed to take any action against them.

The driver of the other mini-bus managed to escape the scene before police’s arrival.

Elsewhere, students of Government Degree College, Jhang, assaulted a transport company office and vandalised property over the death of a college fellow in an accident involving a bus operated by the company.

The students dispersed on receiving an assurance from Additional SP Abdul Ghaffar Qaisarani of action against the driver responsible for the accident. The transport company alleged that the students damaged furniture in the waiting room and cafeteria. The manager also accused the students of taking away Rs250,000 from the cash counter before leaving the office. The protesters reportedly also vandalised shops at a shopping mall on Yousuf Shah Road and damaged windscreens of cars parked outside the building on their way back.

The speeding Rawalpindi-bound bus had earlier crushed Sajjad Raza and Usman near Jhang Proactive Bund. Raza died on the spot. Usman was taken to the district headquarters (DHQ) hospital where he was in a critical condition. The two were on their way to the college from Chund Bharwana village.

Driver Sayeed Khan was arrested by the police.

A transport company official said they had suspended operations from Jhang and that buses headed for Rawalpindi and southwards were being diverted through Toba Tek Singh and Gojra.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9th, 2011.

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