Mumbai: School bus driver's quick-thinking saves kids after brakes fail

Passers-by stop to look at the damaged bus

A driver showed great presence of mind when the brakes of the school bus he was driving failed, by taking it onto a footpath, from where it slowly crashed into street lights and then into a tree and stopped, averting a major tragedy. On Wednesday, around 1.30 pm, when the bus of Ryan International School, Goregaon, was dropping children home, its brakes failed in front of Oberoi Mall. The quick-thinking driver, Kisan Gaikwad, drove it onto a footpath. Nobody was injured in the incident and another bus was immediately arranged to drop the children home.

There were around 18-20 students travelling in the bus which is a 27-seater vehicle. However, the bus was damaged as it banged into street lights and then crashed into a tree. "I was not speeding and the roads too were comparatively empty, so it was possible to do so. There was a conductor and an attendant in the bus who helped calm the scared children. Since the door was damaged, children had to get off the bus through the emergency door.

"We first ensured that everybody got out. Then another bus was called and parents of the children were informed. Some who live nearby reached the spot to take them home," said Gaikwad, the driver, who also registered a non-cognisable (NC) offence in Dindoshi police station regarding the incident. Gaikwad's experience of over 15 years driving a school bus helped him manage the situation tactfully. According to Gaikwad, who has been with the school for his entire career, due to the new technology used in the brake system, the problem wasn't spotted before.

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