VARKALA: Precious lives are being lost on the roads due to over speeding of private buses. A housewife died after being hit by a private bus on the Varkala Maidanam-Railway Station road at around 6 am yesterday. The deceased is M Pratibha (46), a resident of Vrindavanam House, Kayikkara Kovilthottam. The accident happened when she was going to Varkala railway station on a scooter with her husband Vijayakumar to drop off their daughter Vishnupriya, who is studying nursing in Kollam.

Vijayakumar was the one riding the Honda Activa scooter. The daughter was sitting in the middle and Pratibha was sitting at the back. While overtaking the scooter, the back of the bus hit the scooter. Pratibha, who fell on the road, sustained serious head injuries. She was taken to Varkala Taluk Hospital but her life could not be saved. Vijayakumar and his daughter sustained minor injuries. They were injured on arms and legs but the injuries are not serious. Vijayakumar is a construction worker. Pratibha was a temporary employee of Haritha Karma Sena.

The scooter was hit by a bus operating on the Varkala-Venjaramood route. According to eyewitnesses, overspeeding was the cause of the accident. The bus driver, a native of Anchuthengu, was taken into custody by the Varkala police. Pratibha's body was cremated in her house premises. Son: Vishnu Nath, ninth grader.