Andhra bus fire accident: Biker was drunk; skidded and died before collision, say police

Andhra bus fire accident

Andhra Pradesh police on Sunday confirmed that the two bike-borne persons connected to the Bengaluru-bound bus fire accident, which claimed the lives of 19 passengers, were drunk.

In the wee hours of October 24, the sleeper bus ran over a two-wheeler, which had already met in an accident, at Chinna Tekuru village in Kurnool district. There were 44 passengers on the bus and several managed to escape.

The two-wheeler was dragged forward underneath the bus, leading to the bursting of its fuel tank and subsequent ignition of the fire.

"We just received the forensic confirmation that the two bike-borne persons (Siva Shankar and Erri Swamy) were drunk," Kurnool Range Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Koya Praveen told PTI.

Though police were aware that the duo was in an inebriated condition, they did not confirm this fact as they were waiting for forensic evidence. The DIG on Saturday night said the duo had food in a dhaba and Swamy had admitted to consuming liquor.

According to police, Shankar and Swamy had started off on the two-wheeler from Lakshmipuram village around 2 am on October 24 to drop the latter at Tuggali village in Kurnool district.

En route, the duo had halted at the HP petrol bunk near Kia car showroom to fill petrol at 2.24 am, said Kurnool Superintendent of Police Vikrant Patil. A video of their halt at the petrol bunk went viral and Shankar was seen riding the two-wheeler rashly.

Shortly after resuming their journey, the two-wheeler skidded, resulting in Shankar falling to his right and hitting the divider. He died on the spot. Over the past few days, the southern state witnessed widespread rainfall, leaving wet and muddy roads amid inclement weather.

When Swamy had pulled Shankar from the middle of the road and checked him, he had died on the spot, Patil said.

"Even as he was thinking of pulling the bike aside from the road, the bus rushed in and ran over it, dragging it forward to some distance," said Patil.

Following the two back-to-back accidents and the bus engulfing in a raging fire, Swamy got scared and left for his native village of Tuggali. Later, police picked up Swamy and questioned him to unearth the crucial details of the ghastly accident.

Kurnool police also took Swamy to the accident spot and completed a scene reconstruction. Meanwhile, bus driver Miryala Lakshmaiah, who was taken into custody by police on Friday evening, told police during questioning that he was driving at between 80 and 90 kmph when he ran over the bike.

According to a report by The Times of India, he claimed he suddenly saw the bike, couldn't control the bus, ran over it and continued driving without realising it was trapped beneath the bus. When the friction made the bike's fuel tank explode, he stopped the bus. It was too late. Lakshmaiah claimed he tried to open the entry-exit door as the flames raged, but found them jammed. He jumped out and broke the side and rear windows of the bus with a rod, which helped some passengers jump out. With the inferno quickly spreading and the bus turning into a huge ball of fire, Lakshmaiah said he panicked and ran away.

In response to reports that the driver may have faked his educational certificates to obtain a heavy vehicle license, the Kurnool SP clarified that Lakshmaiah first got his driving license in 2004 and confirmed that his educational credentials are currently under verification.