The death of a 32-year-old bike rider in the Shivamogga district was a head-on collision between a private bus and a motorcycle near the Kommanalu turn on the Savalanga road.
Local people were horrified on Sunday night by the brutal crash. The death was reported to have happened while on the way from Shivamogga to his hometown, police said. The victim was also identified as Shivakumar of Hale Jog village in Nyamati taluk in Davanagere district.
Shivakumar, cycling back home, was reportedly involved when the accident took place near the Kommanalu junction, which is a part of town with a lot of foot traffic coming and going and steep turns. According to police, the crash involved a private bus and a two-wheeler of Shivakumar.
The crash was said to have been so violent that the rider reportedly died. Shivakumar perished on the spot before he could be picked up by an ambulance. The onlookers were quickly followed by the locals and passersby. Traffic on the road was briefly affected as people formed around the area.
Authorities cleared this road and resumed normal vehicle movement. Within hours, Shivamogga Rural Police personnel came to the station after receiving news of what had happened. Following a preliminary investigation, police began picking up the evidence of the crash.
It was then transferred for postmortem examination, and the case was registered for further examination. Investigators probe what caused this crash: overspeeding, lack of visibility, or negligence.
In Karnataka, bus and two-wheeler traffic accidents are a serious concern even now at night in the state. Some of the most seasoned of the authorities even advise riders to keep an eye out for highways and paths with poor visibility. It is at least because of Shivakumar’s death, and his family and the residents of Hale Jog are worried. His family says he was a hard-working young man whose unexpected death devastated the whole family.
The neighbours also urged the residents to make the area safer for crash-prone turns (i.e., at Kommanalu junction) by putting in road safety measures (more light, warning signs, speed control systems).
Testimony of witnesses and statements of the bus driver are recorded, the officers said, and further inquiry has begun, to be described when audio recordings of accounts are provided by witnesses and the bus driver.
