Chitradurga crash: Meet Sachin, the braveheart driver who saved 40 schoolchildren

He had to respond in a split second. A terrible disaster unfolded before his eyes, but he rose to the occasion, as a man with nerves of steel, to save the lives of 40 children from a private school in Bengaluru who were going to Dandeli on an educational excursion. Meet Sachin, the driver of the bus carrying the schoolchildren who prevented the tragedy in Hiriyur Taluka in Chitradurga district of Karnataka that took place early on Thursday (December 25) from becoming worse by applying not just his vehicle’s brakes but also his present-mindedness.

In fact, the braveheart even saved nine passengers of the ill-fated Gokarna-bound luxury sleeper bus from Bengaluru that his vehicle was trailing and was rammed by an out-of-control container lorry that was coming from the opposite direction and jumped the divider of National Highway 48, resulting in a blaze in which five were charred. The driver of the lorry was also killed, while that of the burnt bus survived with injuries.

Driver anticipates danger, acts promptly

Sachin, who has won wide accolades for his daring act, was driving the schoolbus. He was too close to the accident, but a timely anticipation saw him turn his grip on the steering wheel stronger to veer his vehicle to the left and eventually stop it safely.

Also read: Bus driver recounts moments before Chitradurga road accident

Speaking to The Federal about the ‘Great Escape’, Sachin was visibly shaken and emotional while recalling the testing moments that he went through.

Describing his experience, he said, “I was taking 40 children to Dandeli. A Seabird bus overtook my vehicle and went about 80 feet ahead. Meanwhile, a container coming from the opposite direction jumped the divider and hit that bus directly.

Also read: Kurnool bus fire exposes rampancy of out-of-state bus registrations

“At that moment, I was in the middle lane. As soon as I sensed danger, I turned my bus to the left. Even though there was a slight touch between my bus and the bus that caught fire, I did not lose control of the steering and stopped the vehicle safely on the left side of the service road. All the children in the bus are safe.”

After securing kids, Sachin rushed to burning bus's rescue

But his sense of responsibility did not stop Sachin there. As soon as he ensured that the children in his bus were safe, he jumped out of his vehicle and ran towards the Seabird bus, which had turned into a ball of fire by then, hoping to save lives.

He was not disappointed, and nor did he disappoint.

“I ran and broke the window of the burning bus and helped nine people trapped inside to get out one by one. Another person who was present there also helped me. But the entire bus was engulfed in flames,” Sachin said, recalling the severity of the incident.

Rues inability to save more people

He also remembered one woman who somehow managed to disembark from the bus but was screaming for help, saying her child was inside. Sachin said the fire was so big that they could do nothing but helplessly watch the bus burn. The child survived but the failure to save the lost lives still haunts the braveheart.

Also read: Bus fire survivors recount horror: ‘Door wouldn’t open; fire was already upon us’

“That situation of being unable to do anything even though lives were being lost in front of our eyes still haunts me,” Sachin said as he broke down.

“I feel like God saved the children in my bus. All this chaos happened just because of the negligence and mistake of the container driver. I am still not able to get over the shock of this incident. I will never forget this day until I die,” his voice trembled.

(This article was first published in The Federal Karnataka)