TRICHY: A person was crushed to death as a bus went out of control all of a sudden when the driver was confronted by a reptile slithering under his seat, here on Saturday. The incident took place near Keeranur on the Pudukottai-Trichy road. The driver jumped out of his seat before running to safety, soon after crashing the bus into the Illayavayal bus stand.

The state transport bus was plying from Pudukkottai to Keeranur. The conductor was busying punching tickets when some passengers raised alarms fearing the presence of a snakeat Illayavayal panchayat bus stop. Some of the passengers were also seen hanging from the overhead rod as they lifted their heels off the ground by reflex. There was total chaos within the bus. as there were still others who jumped onto the available space on the seats, overcrowding the bus.

Meanwhile, the bus driver looked to see what happened when he found the monster slithering under his seat. The driver lowered his head to see the movement of "a live something" when the bus was speeding, and in the process he lost control. The bus swerved left and right and in the ensuing melee, a passenger who was waiting at the Illayavayal bus stand got entangled into the rear wheel of the bus and was crushed to death. The deceased was identified as K Rengasamy, 27, a textile vendor. He is survived by wife and a child.

After crashing the bus at Illayavayal bus stand, the driver jumped out of the bus and ran to safety. He was not traceable immediately.

It later transpired that the "snake" was only a whiptail lizard. whose mere presence in the bus cost a life.