Twenty-two people, including 17 schoolchildren and an eight-month-old infant, were hit by a car at Karukutty junction near Angamaly here on Thursday evening.
Those injured were waiting at the bus stop around 4.30 p.m. when the accident occurred. The children, students between Classes VIII and X of the St. Joseph’s High School at Angamaly, were waiting for a bus after school. They were standing at the bus stop along the median between the service road and main road when the accident occurred.
The Hyundai Accent car involved in the accident was moving in the direction from Angamaly to Thrissur.
“The car was about to hit a motorbike and swerved to the left to avoid the vehicle. Due to the speed at which the car was travelling, it went on top of the median and hit the children waiting for the bus before it came to a halt. It also rammed the motorbike it was trying to avoid,” said Angamaly circle inspector of police D. Radhakrishna Pillai. He said the driver of the vehicle immediately ran away from the spot.
The injured were immediately taken to a private hospital at Angamaly.
The students of St. Joseph’s High School injured in the accident were Sethulakshmi, 15, Ansa Antony, 14, Sania Scaria, 14, Jasmine James, 15, Manjusha Jayan, 14, Amrutha, 14, Akhila, 15, Aisha Merin Davis, 15, Shyji Shaju, 15, Rose Maria, 14, Maria Cherian, 14, Sonu Benny, 15, Limia Martin, 15, Subramanian, 15, Judy Raju, 14, Ann Maira, 14, and Merlin Sebastian, 13. Akhila was later moved to a private hospital in Kochi as she suffered serious injuries, including a fractured pelvis.
Among the injured were Shiji Joseph, 31, if Chulli House, Karukutty and her eight-month-old daughter Angel Joseph. Hospital officials said that a CT scan of the infant showed no major injuries. Asha Shaji, 44, of Chelappilly House, Mambara, was hospitalised with injuries. Hospital officials said she was a teacher at the SCMS School of Engineering and Technology and was at the bus stop after classes on Thursday. The driver of the motorbike Shaju, 45, of Alukka House, Kariyamparamambu, and a person named Joby, 42, of Painadath, Karukutty were injured in the accident.
An irate crowd soon gathered at the spot and blocked the road off following the accident. A large police force, including senior police officers, arrived at the spot to calm down the crowd and clear the route for traffic.
