Bus crew saves toddler found sitting on busy road in Malappuram

Kozhikode: The timely intervention of the crew of a private bus helped save the life of a toddler who was found sitting in the middle of a busy road at Pulikkal near Kondotty in Malappuram on Wednesday morning.

The incident occurred around 8.30am on the Olavattur-Farook PWD road near Kinarpadi. Safa Marwa bus was heading from Olavattur to Farook when the driver noticed the child sitting on the road.

Despite light rain and poor visibility on the curved stretch, driver Ramachandran, a native of Palapparambu in Valiyaparamba, spotted the toddler and immediately brought the bus to a halt.

Conductor Navas Ali of Alakkapparambu quickly got down from the bus, picked up the child and safely handed her over to her family.

The child, daughter of Ramees and aged less than one year, had reportedly crawled out of her house unnoticed and reached the road.

The location is known to be accident-prone. Just two months ago, a child from Thonikkal Para in Olavattur was killed after a mini-lorry collided with a motorcycle on the same dangerous curve.

The motor vehicles department commended the bus driver and conductor who rescued the toddler.

In a post on its official Facebook page, the department said that motorists should always follow the principle of “expect the unexpected” while driving.

‘“Expect the unexpected" is a mindset that drivers must maintain at all times. We congratulate Ramachandran and Navas for their timely intervention in stopping the bus and saving the life of the infant without causing any further accidents,” the MVD said.