Following the death of another pedestrian at Iblur Junction in a month on January 12, the traffic police is pressurising everyone possible in ensuring that road deaths on Sarjapur Road and Iblur junction are minimised with proper overbridges and other safeguards. In the meanwhile, the lorry driver who ran over Doddamuniyappa and killed him at around 9.34am is out on bail. Even the vehicle that was seized is released. “Since it was a case under negligent driving, it is a bailable offence,” said one traffic cop.
The senior officers of the traffic department are visiting and examining all the road deaths on Sarjapur Road to come up with a comprehensive solution to prevent more pedestrian deaths. “We have written letters to not only the state government but also the central ministry as one side of the road belongs to the defence forces. We cannot do any work without their express permission,” said our police source.
WHAT HAPPENED ON SATURDAY?
On January 12, at around 9.34am, 55-year-old Doddamuniyappa died on the spot when a cement mixer lorry (KA01 AE 3754) ran over him while he was crossing the Outer Ring Road near Iblur junction. This was the second pedestrian death in a month on the same stretch. The last death was of Gangadhar Nayar on December 10.
The death sparked a public outcry and traffic flow was disrupted for almost half a day on Saturday between Agara flyover and Sarjapur-ORR junction. According to the police complaint, the lorry driver was allegedly driving rashly and overspending when he hit the senior citizen. He did not notice the hand signal given by Doddamuniyappa and rammed into him. The lorry driver continued driving for some distance, then stopped for a while and then went away, according to the police. Later, he was arrested and released on bail.
