Kannada film actor Nagabhushan booked for knocking down couple leaving woman dead

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Kannada film actor Nagabhushan SS was arrested in a case of reckless and negligent driving after his speeding SUV rammed into a couple which led to the death of a 48-year-old woman in the city.

The incident took place at Vasanthapura Main Road in Bengaluru on Saturday night. The deceased woman was identified as Prema S.

It is learnt that around 9:45 pm, Prema was walking along with her husband, Krishna B, 58, on Vasanthapura Main Road near Suprabhat Shreem Brezee Apartment off Kanakapura Road.

The accused, driving his car from Rajarajeshwari Nagar towards his house in JP Nagar, allegedly knocked down the couple and crashed into an electric pole.

Immediately after the accident, the severely injured couple were rushed to a private hospital. The woman succumbed to her injuries on the way to the hospital while her husband is undergoing treatment.

Police in their statement mentioned that the actor was driving the car in a "rash and negligent" manner.

The actor claimed to have transported the injured couple to hospital in an auto-rickshaw before alerting the police. The Kumaraswamy Layout Traffic Police said that the accused claimed that his car had broken down and failed to start following the crash.

In his statement, the actor said that while he was driving, the couple came down from the footpath to the road. When he saw them getting onto the road, he got scared and hit them first, then hit an electricity pole, he claimed.

The police recovered the CCTV footage of the incident and are verifying it. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Bengaluru south, Shiva Prakash Devaraju later said, "Our initial tests with the machine have not detected alcohol," adding that the accused has been let out on station bail.