Dharwad: A speeding school-bus killed an 18-month old toddler in Hebballi village in Dharwad district on Thursday morning, thus crushing his parents’ dreams of making him an officer in the future.
The deceased toddler Prithviraj Kundgol was playing in front of his house at around 8.30 am when the speeding school bus hit him. Though his family members shifted the profusely bleeding boy to the district hospital in Dharwad, the effort went futile. The doctors who attended to the boy declared him brought dead.
According to eyewitnesses, the school bus driver was in a hurry as he was late to school. They said the same driver had been warned by the villagers earlier for rash driving.
Prithviraj was the younger son of his parents Manjula and Kareppa Kundagol.
Manjula, the wailing mother of the deceased toddler said, “When my son was playing in front of the house, the bus came and hit him suddenly and we ran out to check what happened. When I took my son in my hands he was profusely bleeding, while the bus driver said nothing had happened to my son. But when we rushed to the hospital everything was over”.
Recalling his close association with his son, Kareppa said, “It is very much hard for me to forget the moments spent with Prithvi. Without him there is no meaning to our life. I was out of the house on some work otherwise I would at least have been with him during the ghastly moment”.
A close relative of Pritviraj said his parents had dreamt of making him an officer but everything was shattered.
The bus belonged to Jnanajyoti School in Dharwad. The villagers and the family members of deceased complained that school authorities had not turned up at the hospital or the village despite knowing of the tragedy and demanded action against them.
Dharwad Rural Police have arrested the bus driver and seized the vehicle.
