Mumbai, February 18 The family members of a 41-year-old man, who was run over by a BEST bus in Mumbai's Santacruz area, alleged on Wednesday that he died because the civic-run hospital did not arrange an ambulance to transfer him to a private medical facility.
The accident occurred on Saturday night, and the victim was declared dead after being transferred to the private hospital, they said.
A video of the accident went viral on social media on Wednesday.
The deceased, Arun Tiwari, was travelling from his Vakola residence to a nearby petrol pump on February 14. When he reached Kalina, his motorcycle skidded due to a pothole, and he fell onto the road. Just then, a bus operated by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) ran over him, a police official said.
Tiwari was rushed to the civic-run V N Desai Hospital. However, doctors there advised his family to transfer him to Lilavati Hospital for emergency medical care, he said.
The victim's wife said, "Following the doctors' advice, we requested the Desai Hospital authorities and staff to arrange an ambulance to transfer him. However, despite waiting for nearly 30 minutes, no such arrangement was made. Eventually, we transferred him to Lilavati Hospital, where he was declared dead."
She added that if the Desai Hospital authorities had arranged an ambulance in time, his life could have been saved.
The deceased is survived by his wife and a minor daughter.
After the accident, locals caught the bus driver and assaulted him before he was rescued by the police. The driver was later admitted to a nearby hospital, the police official said.
Based on a complaint filed by a family member of the deceased, the bus driver was booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act, he said, adding that the investigation is underway.