TV footage from inside the bus showed the moment Prabhu collapsed after experiencing severe chest pain, losing control of the vehicle. The conductor and several passengers immediately rushed to assist him.
An accident was narrowly avoided in Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul district on Friday thanks to the quick response of a bus conductor and passengers after the driver suffered a fatal heart attack while driving. The driver, identified as Prabhu, passed away from the cardiac arrest.
CCTV footage from inside the bus showed the moment Prabhu collapsed after experiencing severe chest pain, losing control of the vehicle. The conductor and several passengers immediately rushed to assist him. Reacting swiftly, the conductor managed to pull the emergency brake in time, bringing the bus to a stop and preventing a potential accident.
The incident occurred while the private bus was en route to Pudukottai. As it passed through Kanakampatti, Prabhu reportedly signalled to the conductor, trying to indicate his distress. However, before any help could reach him, he lost consciousness behind the wheel.
Authorities have since launched an investigation. Police are reviewing the CCTV footage and have begun questioning the conductor and passengers to understand the sequence of events.
This tragic event follows a pattern of recent heart attack cases across the country. In a similar incident in November last year, a Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) driver named Kiran, aged 39, died from a cardiac arrest while operating a bus near Yeshwantpur. He had been driving from Nelamangala to Yeshwantpur when he suddenly experienced chest pain and collapsed.
There has also been a spike in heart attack cases during routine activities or social events. Earlier this month, a 22-year-old bride-to-be in Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun died from a cardiac arrest during her Haldi ceremony, just a day before her wedding. In another case, a 35-year-old man in Chhattisgarh’s Ambikapur died after collapsing from a suspected heart attack while trying to start his scooter.
Just days earlier, a 50-year-old man named Wasim Sarwat died from a heart attack while dancing at his 25th wedding anniversary celebration in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh.