Kurla bus crash: He was an expert driver, wasn’t drunk, says family of BEST bus driver

The smashed front of the electric bus involved in Monday night’s accident. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

It was some glitch in the system of the electric bus… my husband tried to save many people on the busy road. He has no past cases and not a single FIR against him as he hasn't ever been involved in an accident. I feel very sad about people losing their lives, but it was not my husband's fault," said Manisha, wife of BEST bus driver Sanjay More, while speaking to mid-day. More has 33 years of experience in driving heavy vehicles, but it remains a mystery how the electric vehicle failed to stop, crashing into multiple vehicles, killing 7 people and injuring 49 in Kurla on Monday night.

Vishwanath Jadhav, More's friend. Pic/Kirti Surve Parade

The police confirmed that BEST driver Sanjay More was not drunk, and his family stated that he was neither under any stress nor depressed. Speaking with mid-day, his wife Manisha said, "My husband has been driving heavy vehicles since 1991 and has never even hit another vehicle while driving."

"On Monday, my husband left home at 1 pm for his duty at the Kurla Depot. The incident occurred around 9.30 pm during his last trip for the day on the electric bus - from Kurla to Andheri. We received news of a major accident at Kurla and saw videos and photos on social media. I immediately called my husband, but he didn't answer. I thought someone else was involved in the accident. However, as he didn't return home at night, I inquired at the depot but couldn't get any information. At 5.30 am on Tuesday, I received a call from the police about the incident. We rushed to the police station and found that my husband had been arrested by Kurla police," Manisha added.

"My husband was not under any stress and was living a happy life. He told me he would return home around midnight or 1 am after completing his duty. I feel really bad about all the lives lost and request family members of the victims to forgive us for the loss of their loved ones. I am sure it was a glitch with the electric bus system and not my husband's fault," Manisha explained.

Manisha, wife of Sanjay More, at their residence. Pic/Rajesh Gupta

More has a valid license issued in 1991 for driving heavy vehicles. He worked with several well-known transport companies, regularly driving heavy vehicles on the Mumbai-Delhi routes. But he lost his job during the lockdown after the company shut down.

According to his family members, More underwent five days of training as per the terms of BEST for driving electric buses. He had previously driven BEST mini-buses for three years, but when BEST stopped running them, he started driving electric buses. "On December 1, he began working with the electric buses and his first trip was a long-distance route. Over the last nine days, he has been doing his job regularly."

More's cousin, Manohar Ogle, said, "My brother is very poor and his family runs a roadside food stall. He has two children - a son who works in a private company and a daughter who is studying for the SSC exam. They live in a 10 ft x 10 ft room. More would never do something like this… killing people."

Meanwhile, More's friend, Vishwanath Jadhav, said that the BEST driver had taught him to drive. "He also taught several friends to drive and gave driving lessons to others in our community. He worked as a driver in a private company and even drove luxury cars. Vehicles were like a god to him and he would pray to them daily before driving. We don't believe that he killed anyone. In fact, we believe he saved many people during the accident. The road at Kurla is very busy and narrow. He didn't swerve to the side of the road where pedestrians were walking in large numbers. He controlled it and crashed into the wall to protect the passengers inside the bus and others on the road. The cops should thoroughly investigate this matter."