Bhopal/Morena, April 27 : A horrific road accident on Jaura Road in Morena claimed the life of a forty-year-old woman on Monday morning after she was struck and dragged by a speeding bus, officials said.

The victim, identified as Kamla Baghel, a resident of Baripura, was attempting to cross the road around 10 a.m. when the vehicle knocked her down.

In a sequence of events described by authorities as particularly brutal, the driver failed to apply the brakes after the initial impact, instead dragging the woman for approximately thirty feet along the pavement. The severity of the incident resulted in her immediate death at the scene.

Local police from the Civil Lines station arrived shortly after the incident to secure the area and begin their investigation.

According to police officials, the driver abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene immediately after the collision. The authorities have seized the bus, and a manhunt has been launched to locate and apprehend the driver.

The investigation is being supported by a harrowing eyewitness account from another woman who was accompanying the victim at the time of the crash.

The witness informed investigators that the bus was being rashly driven in a negligent manner, leaving the victim with no opportunity to move out of the way.

She further emphasised that the driver appeared to show a total disregard for life by continuing to drive while the woman was trapped beneath the vehicle, dragging her body a significant distance before finally coming to a halt.

Other women who were present at the accident site have also come forward to provide statements, all of whom have held the driver solely responsible for the gruesome fatality.

The Civil Lines police have officially registered a criminal case and are currently examining the vehicle for any mechanical failures, though preliminary reports suggest human negligence and excessive speed were the primary causes.

/IANS