Date:14/01/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/01/14/stories/2007011423240300.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Major pile-up averted

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: A major pile-up was averted on the busy 8th Cross in Malleswaram on Saturday when a tempo carrying steel almirahs had a brake failure.

According to eyewitnesses, the alertness of the tempo driver and the people who tried to halt the advance of the vehicle by placing stones averted what could have been a major accident.

Two two-wheelers were crushed under the vehicle even as the driver turned the vehicle towards the footpath.People ran helter-skelter when the driver lost control over the vehicle. There was a big crowd in Malleswaram on Saturday because of Sankranthi.

"But for the alertness of the driver, at least 15 vehicles would have been involved in a pile-up, including mine," an eyewitness to the incident said.