London : A 77-year-old Indian-origin former mayor of a town was driving the double-decker bus which crashed into a supermarket in England’s Coventry city, killing two persons, including an eight-year-old boy, media said on Monday. Kailash Chander is understood to have lost control and driven on to the pavement before hitting at least four lampposts and crashing into the city centre store on Saturday evening, reports PTI.
Chander, a father of two and former Labour councillor and former town Mayor of Leamington Spa in Warwickshire county, had worked with Stagecoach Midlands for 42 years, a colleague said, describing him as “a polite, kind man who has done a lot for the community,” Metro.co.uk reported. West Midlands Police said the bus driver is assisting police with their inquiries, but no arrests have been made. An eight-year-old boy, a passenger on the top deck of the bus, and the woman thought to be in her 70s, a pedestrian, both died at the scene, West Midlands Police have said. A nine-year-old girl is also seriously injured in hospital, while six others, including the bus driver, were hurt. The bus collided with stationary cars before hitting the Sainsbury’s store. “We hope to carry out a swift investigation and I would like to thank people who have already come forward who witnessed the collision. “This is a busy area of Coventry city centre and we hope to keep disruption to a minimum as our investigation continues; no-one has been arrested at this stage,” said police Supt Paul Keasey.
