Dumper truck driver held for crash that killed 12 pilgrims

Bareilly: Dumper truck driver, who caused the deaths of 12 pilgrims including three children by colliding with a parked bus near Khutar town of Shahjahanpur, was arrested on Monday night, said police. The pilgrims were on their way to Purnagiri temple in Uttarakhand.
The incident took place around 11pm on Saturday when the bus halted outside a roadside eatery along the Gola state highway in the Khutar area.According to police, the accused driver, Bhimsen, confessed that he had momentarily dozed off, leading to him losing control of the steering wheel and colliding with the bus.
The gravel-laden truck then overturned onto the bus carrying about 50 people. Several victims were buried under the debris, resulting in casualties, said officials. Bhimsen, a resident of Pilibhit district, had been operating the dumper truck for the past three months. Additional SP Manoj Kumar Awasthi said, “The accused driver has been charged with culpable homicide and rash driving. He has beensent to jail.”