Kurla BEST Bus Accident: Mumbai Police Confirm Driver Was Not Drunk or Mentally Ill at Time of Incident

Medical tests of the driver involved in the Kurla BEST bus accident, which claimed eight lives, have confirmed that he was neither under the influence of alcohol nor suffering from any mental disorder at the time of the incident, police revealed on Wednesday.

An electric bus, operating on a wet-lease arrangement for the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking and driven by Sanjay More, rammed into a crowd in Mumbai's Kurla area on December 9. The accident claimed eight lives, injured over 40 people, and caused damage to several vehicles. Sanjay More (54) is currently in police custody on charges of reckless driving and has been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Before the commencement of the case trial, the driver’s psychological test was recently conducted at a civic hospital in Sion to confirm if he had any mental illness, a Kurla police official said. The test report confirmed his mental condition was normal and he had no mental disorder and he was not suffering from any brain-related disease, the official said.

More’s blood test report confirmed he was not under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident, police said. Earlier, More had claimed that a brake failure caused the crash. However, a report from the regional transport office (RTO) revealed that the bus was in proper working condition, with no brake or technical failure, according to officials.