Greater Noida: 4 kids hurt as school bus hits tree in bid to avoid head-on crash

Four children and two men were injured in Greater Noida West on Thursday morning when a private school bus with 17 students on board hit the road median and rammed into a tree while trying to avoid a head-on collision with a speeding vehicle, police said. The injured students were two girls, aged 13 and six, and two boys aged 12 and 16, who are all out of danger, said police.

The accident took place at 8.30am near the Char Murti intersection when the bus driver saw a vehicle speeding towards him from the wrong side, police said.

“Our bus had picked up children in Greater Noida and was bringing them to the school in Ghaziabad when a speeding vehicle suddenly appeared in front of it. The bus driver swerved to the right to avoid a collision and hit a divider before crashing into a tree. There were 17 children on board at the time of whom three, along with the bus driver and a helper sustained injuries,” said a member of the school administration, requesting anonymity.

However, police said that four students sustained minor injuries. The two injured men are also out of danger, said police.

The driver, identified as Bhagwan Singh, 48, and the helper, Sanjay Pal, 25, informed the school administration about the accident after which school staff, including the vice principal, rushed to the spot and took the injured to a nearby hospital with the help of police. “We also dispatched another school bus to pick up the remaining children who were stranded at the spot. We also informed the parents of the injured students, and our school staff are in touch with them to provide assistance,” the staff person added.

The traffic police called two hydraulic cranes to the spot and removed the damaged bus from the main carriageway.

“All the children were discharged after getting medical treatment. We are investigating the allegations about the vehicle coming from the opposite direction and scanning CCTV camera footage to identify the vehicle,” said Diksha Singh, assistant commissioner of police, Central Noida.

No case has yet been registered in the matter, said police.