The traffic police team probing the mishap on Anna flyover arrested bus driver Prasad on Thursday even as it began checking his cellphone call details. The driver was later released on personal bail.
“The motor vehicle inspector report says there is no mechanical fault in the bus. So we concluded that that the accident was caused due to driver’s negligence,” a senior police officer said.
According to the probe team, the driver had spoken a few times on his mobile between 1.15 pm and 2 pm.
“We are still analysing his call details. A call record shows that the mobile number of the driver was hooked to the tower in Parry’s corner.
More than 30 minutes later another log shows that he was talking on the cellphone while it was hooked to the tower near Anna flyover. We will have to see if it matches with the exact time of accident or not,” an officer noted.
In the call, hooked to the tower near Anna flyover, he was found talking to a conductor friend of his. “We will have to conduct an enquiry with him,” the officer added.
In a related development, MTC top officials met and discussed the need to take stringent measures against bus crew using cellphones while on duty.