NEW DELHI: Two toddlers, including a girl, were seriously injured and six others sustained minor wounds after the driver of a private Sumo car, in which the children were being ferried to their school, lost control and rammed into a stationary vehicle in south Delhi Wednesday.
The accident took place around 7.30 a.m. in Greater Kailash II when the driver of the speeding Sumo was overtaking another vehicle.
The police said he lost control of the vehicle and rammed into a car parked outside a home. After hitting the stationary vehicle, the Sumo overturned.
According to the police, 17 students - all below 10 years - of Balwant Rai Mehta Vidyalaya were inside the car when the accident occurred.
All the injured were admitted to the nearby Talwar Medical Centre, where nine students were discharged after first aid. Four were taken to Batra Hospital.
Seven-year-old Mohammed Ali, who broke his hand and needed 15 stitches on his head, was recuperating with three others at Talwar Medical Centre.
At Batra Hospital, Class I student Nupur, who sustained injuries on head, forearm and elbow, was declared out of danger after a CT scan. Three of her friends were discharged after treatment.
According to the police all the students stay in Sangam Vihar. The driver has been arrested on a charge of rash and negligent driving.
School principal A.K. Tripathi refused to accept any responsibility for the accident.
"First of all, the Sumo car doesn't belong to the school. Our transport goes to their locality, but despite that parents send their children through private vehicles as they find it more convenient," Tripathi told reporters.
"We also obtain undertakings from such parents who send their wards to school on their own that the school would not be held responsible for any untoward incident beyond its boundaries," he added.
