COIMBATORE: For family of 32-year old Suresh Kumar, it was another big jolt. A resident of Rathinapuri on the outskirts of Coimbatore, Kumar was heading to Chennai in the ill-fated ‘Air India Travels’ omni bus, accompanied by his father R Krishnan (65), for undergoing a lung surgery at a hospital in Chennai, when the bus overturned near Annur.Kumar and Krishnan were among the passengers who suffered injuries in the accident. On Monday afternoon, Krishnan succumbed to injuries at a hospital in Coimbatore, while his son is recuperating with injuries on his hand, leg and hip. “The father and son had come to Coimbatore to make arrangements for cash needed for Kumar’s lung surgery. They were in Chennai last week to consult doctors on Kumar’s health condition. Since doctors had advised a lung surgery immediately, they came here and were going to Chennai when the accident occurred,” said Ganesan, Krishnan’s son-in-law.Krishnan used to eke out a living as a watchman, while his son is a car driver. “Kumar was unable to drive for several months since he suffered from breathing problem. Now, his surgery has to wait and worse, he has suffered a hip injury that will keep him away from driving for long.”Meanwhile, news of the death of another passenger Aarthi, left her friends and teachers shocked. “She was a very brilliant student and had appeared for UPSC preliminary examination only last month. She was very confident of clearing the UPSC and getting into the IAS this time, but fate has cut her life short. She even secured 176 out of 200 in the recent TNPSC (Group I) exam,” recalled Murali, who handled classes for Aarthi.Eyewitnesses said when the bus hit the tamarind tree, its roof came off. “In the impact, the mangled railings, caused injuries to the passengers,” one of them said.Meanwhile, Coimbatore (Rural) Superintendent of Police E S Uma said a hunt is on for the bus owner-cum-driver Balaji and full-time driver Manikandan. “We are not sure who was driving the bus when it met with the accident. Preliminary inquiries suggest that Air India Travels did not operate regular bus services on the Coimbatore-Chennai route. It is, evident that the accident occurred due to over-speeding,” she told Express.
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