Electric Bus Tragedy: Did "Instant Torque" Cause the Bhandup Crash?

A routine evening commute turned into a horror show in Mumbai's suburbs on December 29. At 10:05 PM, a red BEST (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport) bus attempting to reverse near Bhandup railway station suddenly surged backward, crushing a queue of waiting passengers. The incident, captured on CCTV, resulted in the deaths of four people and injuries to nine others. The driver, Santosh Ramesh Sawant, has been arrested and allegedly claimed he "accidentally pressed the accelerator instead of the brake"—a fatal error that experts suggest highlights a growing safety blind spot with the city's new electric fleet.

The Context (How We Got Here)

The tragedy unfolded at the Bhandup (West) bus terminus, a congested transit point where commuters spill onto the road due to narrow footpaths. The bus (Route 606) was maneuvering to park or turn around. Unlike traditional diesel buses that rev up slowly, electric buses (EVs) possess "instant torque," delivering immediate power to the wheels the moment the pedal is touched. Witnesses described the bus shooting backward with terrifying speed, mounting the footpath and mowing down pedestrians before anyone could react. This is not the first time; a similar incident occurred in Kurla in December 2024, raising questions about whether older drivers (Sawant is 52) are being adequately retrained for the sensitivity of EV controls.

The Key Players (Who & So What)

• Santosh Ramesh Sawant (The Driver): A 52-year-old veteran staffer, not a contract worker. His arrest brings the focus back to BEST's own training standards. His claim of pedal confusion is a classic sign of cognitive dissonance when switching between vehicle types (Diesel vs. EV).
• Devendra Fadnavis (Maharashtra CM): The responder. He immediately announced an ex-gratia of ₹5 lakh for the victims' families, attempting to quell the rising public anger over the city's crumbling transport safety.
• The Victims: Four daily commuters, including three women, who were simply waiting to go home. Their deaths highlight the lethal lack of designated "safe zones" for pedestrians at Mumbai's chaotic bus stations.

The BIGSTORY Reframe

While the media narrative focuses on "Driver Negligence," the deeper story is the "Infrastructure-Technology Mismatch."

1. Urban Planning Failure: Why was a heavy vehicle performing a blind reverse maneuver into a dense crowd? The Bhandup "terminus" is merely a roadside stop with no dedicated turnaround bay. Forcing buses to reverse into pedestrian traffic is a design flaw that made this accident inevitable.
2. The Missing AI Safety Net: Modern electric buses globally come with ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems), including Rear Automatic Emergency Braking (Rear-AEB). These systems use sensors to detect humans behind the bus and override the driver’s accelerator input. If this bus had basic AI safety tech, the system would have braked automatically, saving four lives. The absence of such tech in India's "modernized" fleet is a policy failure.

The Implications (Why This Changes Things)

This accident will likely trigger a safety audit of all BEST reversing protocols. Unions may demand better training for senior drivers transitioning to electric buses. More importantly, it exposes the danger of retrofitting new technology (powerful EVs) into old, chaotic infrastructure without upgrading the safety systems (ADAS) or the physical spaces (bus bays) to match.

The Closing Question (Now, Think About This)

If we can afford electric buses to save the environment, can we not afford the sensors to save the passengers standing behind them?

 FAQs

What caused the BEST bus accident in Bhandup? Preliminary investigations and the driver's statement suggest human error. The driver, Santosh Sawant, allegedly pressed the accelerator instead of the brake while reversing. Experts also point to the high torque of the electric bus, which caused it to surge backward instantly, leaving victims no time to escape.

How many people died in the Mumbai bus accident today? As confirmed by civic officials on December 30, 2025, four people were killed in the accident at Bhandup station. Nine others were injured and are receiving treatment at Rajawadi and MT Agarwal Hospitals.

Who is the driver of the bus that crushed passengers in Mumbai? The driver is Santosh Ramesh Sawant, a 52-year-old permanent employee of BEST. He has been arrested by the Bhandup Police and charged with causing death by negligence.

Sources

News Coverage

• The Quint – Four dead, nine injured in Mumbai BEST bus accident
• Hindustan Times – Four dead as BEST bus rams into queue of commuters
• NDTV – Moment when Mumbai's BEST bus reversed and crashed

Context & Data

• New Indian Express – Reversing BEST bus crashes into pedestrians
• Free Press Journal – Bhandup BEST bus accident CCTV video