The driver of a private travels bus was sent to seven days imprisonment for driving the bus in a drunk condition resulting in accident.

According to Panyam police, the Morning Star Travels sleeper coach bound to Tirupati from Hyderabad started at 10 p.m. on April 8. The bus carrying 32 passengers stopped near a tea stall near Kocheruvu near the Tammarajupalli Ghat in Panyam mandal on the National Highway-40 around 5.30 a.m. After having tea and refreshments, Narsaiah, who drove the bus from Hyderabad to Panyam, handed over the vehicle to the second driver Guttipati Gopi.

“Gopi was already drunk by the time he was handed over the steering and started to drive the vehicle. Just after driving for half-a-kilometre at a high speed, Gopi lost control over the steering and crashed into the roadside railing,” the police said. The passengers immediately called Dial 122 and Panyam Circle Inspector Kiran Kumar Reddy and other rushed to the spot and cleared the traffic. When the driver was subjected to breath analyser test, he tested positive, the police said adding a case was registered and Gopi was produced before the court. Gopi was sentenced to seven days imprisonment and the bus was seized.

Police said the railing at the Tammarajupalli Ghat was strong thereby preventing a major accident. The bus would have fallen into 50 metre deep gorge if the bus had ran over the railing, the police said.

Police said it is the responsibility of the travel bus managements to ensure that the drivers do not drive under the influence of alcohol. Any violation will lead to criminal cases and seizure of vehicles.