Even as he suffers heart attack, Mahender steers the bus safely and saves lives

He saved their lives, they in turn saved his.

RTC driver Darini Mahender, who suffered a heart attack while driving, had the presence of mind to stop the bus by the road before he collapsed on the steering. He thus saved many lives, including those of the 50 passengers. The bus was travelling from Godavarikhani to JBS (Secunderabad) in Peddapalli district on Wednesday.

A doctor from Singareni, Chandrashekhar, who was also travelling in the bus, provided first aid to the driver while the passengers tried calling 108 for ambulance but in vain. At this juncture, another passenger called Tirupathi, also an RTC driver, came forward and, through conductor Rani, took permission from RTC authorities to drive the bus to the government hospital in Peddapalli town.

Ironically, there were no doctors at the hospital and after an hour, a doctor arrived but failed to provide treatment. The conductor then hired a private ambulance by paying ₹2,000 and shifted the driver to a private hospital in Karimnagar town, where he is undergoing treatment and is said to be out of danger.

Severe pain

Mahender (35) had started his trip from Godavarikhani to JBS (Secunderabad) at around 5 a.m. After crossing Kamanpur, he suffered breathlessness and felt severe pain in the chest. He drove on for four to five kilometres distance and on reaching Raghavapur, stopped the vehicle by the road and collapsed on the steering. Talking to The Hindu from his hospital bed in Karimnagar town, Mahender said that he had planned to drive the bus till he reached a hospital in Peddapalli town. But he could not drive anymore with the pain in the chest and also for the safety of the passengers. “The passengers saved my life and the presence of a doctor in the bus was nothing short of a miracle,” said Mahender, who has a wife and two children. “I never suffered from high blood pressure or any heart ailment. I don’t know how it all happened.”

Dr. Chandrashekhar said he rushed to the driver after he saw him collapsing on the steering and gave him first aid and regretted the non-availability of duty doctors and facilities such as oxygen and ECG machine at the government hospital.

RTC regional manager Jeevan Prasad said Mahender had saved the lives of the passengers in spite of the severe chest pain and won praise from all sections of society, the commuters in particular