Kurla bus crash: He was an expert, wasn’t drunk, says family of bus driver

It was some glitch in the system of the electric bushellip my husband tried to save many people on the busy road He has no past cases and not a single FIR against him as he hasnrsquot ever been involved in an accident I feel very sad about people losing their lives but it was not my husbandrsquos faultrdquo said Manisha wife of BEST bus driver Sanjay More while speaking to midday More has 33 years of experience in driving heavy vehicles but it remains a mystery how the electric vehicle failed to stop crashing into multiple vehicles killing 7 people and injuring 49 in Kurla on Monday nightVishwanath Jadhav Morersquos friend PicKirti Surve ParadeThe police confirmed that BEST driver Sanjay More was not drunk and his family stated that he was neither under any stress nor depressed Speaking with midday his wife Manisha said ldquoMy husband has been driving heavy vehicles since 1991 and has never even hit another vehicle while drivingrdquoldquoOn Monday my husband left home at 1 pm for his duty at the Kurla Depot The incident occurred around 930 pm during his last trip for the day on the electric busmdashfrom Kurla to Andheri We received news of a major accident at Kurla and saw videos and photos on social media I immediately called my husband but he didnrsquot answer I thought someone else was involved in the accident However as he didnrsquot return home at night I inquired at the depot but couldnrsquot get any information At 530 am on Tuesday I received a call from the police about the incident We rushed to the police station and found that my husband had been arrested by Kurla policerdquo Manisha addedldquoMy husband was not under any stress and was living a happy life He told me he would return home around midnight or 1 am after completing his duty I feel really bad about all the lives lost and request family members of the victims to forgive us for the loss of their loved ones I am sure it was a glitch with the electric bus system and not my husbandrsquos faultrdquo Manisha explainedManisha wife of Sanjay More at their residence PicRajesh GuptaMore has a valid license issued in 1991 for driving heavy vehicles He worked with several wellknown transport companies regularly driving heavy vehicles on the MumbaiDelhi routes But he lost his job during the lockdown after the company shut downAccording to his family members More underwent five days of training as per the terms of BEST for driving electric buses He had previously driven BEST minibuses for three years but when BEST stopped running them he started driving electric buses ldquoOn December 1 he began working with the electric buses and his first trip was a longdistance route Over the last nine days he has been doing his job regularlyrdquoMorersquos cousin Manohar Ogle said ldquoMy brother is very poor and his family runs a roadside food stall He has two childrenmdasha son who works in a private company and a daughter who is studying for the SSC exam They live in a 10 ft x 10 ft room More would never do something like thishellip killing peoplerdquoMeanwhile Morersquos friend Vishwanath Jadhav said that the BEST driver had taught him to drive ldquoHe also taught several friends to drive and gave driving lessons to others in our community He worked as a driver in a private company and even drove luxury cars Vehicles were like a god to him and he would pray to them daily before driving We donrsquot believe that he killed anyone In fact we believe he saved many people during the accident The road at Kurla is very busy and narrow He didnrsquot swerve to the side of the road where pedestrians were walking in large numbers He controlled it and crashed into the wall to protect the passengers inside the bus and others on the road The cops should thoroughly investigate this matterrdquo