CANACONA
A couple riding a two-wheeler died while two passengers in a bus were seriously injured when an inter-State bus knocked down the motorcycle on the NH66 highway at Gulem-Canacona on Tuesday morning.
The bus driver, who was absconding after the road mishap, later surrendered at the Canacona police station.
According to reports, the rider, Paiek Katu Wagonkar (44), a security guard at a private school at Chapoli, and his wife, Priyanka (42), who was on the pillion, were returning to their home in Chapoli-Canacona.
The couple had attended a get-together in Gulem on Monday night. After the get-together, Paiek returned to Chapoli to join his duty, leaving his wife at a relative's house at Gulem for the night.
Waking up early in the morning, Paiek proceeded on his motorbike to Gulem and picked up his wife and both were returning home along the highway. After a short distance, the couple was to enter an internal road to proceed to Chapoli village.
The Wagonkar couple was on NH66 and had just crossed the Bhumipurush temple, Gulem at about 8 am, when an oncoming inter-State bus proceeding from Karwar towards Margao knocked the motorcycle. The bus then hit and brought down a tree, before finally landing in the fields.
Paiek sustained serious head injuries, while Priyanka got dragged along with the bus.
The grievously injured Paiek along with two passengers from the bus were shifted to Community Health Centre (CHC), Canacona. Paiek breathed his last at the CHC, informed health staff on duty.
The two injured bus passengers were later shifted to the District Hospital at Margao.
Canacona police later shifted both bodies to Margao for an autopsy. The couple had been married for a number years, but had no children.
It was unclear how many passengers were in the bus at the time of the mishap.
Fearing backlash from onlookers, the driver, N Nagaraja, a resident of Karnataka, fled from the site.
The situation became tense as some residents became furious over the disappearance of the driver and threatened to set the bus on fire. The driver, however, later surrendered at the Canacona police station.
Canacona PI Chandrakant Gawas said the bus driver has been detained and presently lodged at Canacona police station.
