Four students, driver injured as school bus collides with lorry on Chennai-Bengaluru NH near Ambur

Four students of a private higher secondary school were injured after the school bus they were travelling in was hit by a container lorry on NH 48 at Vadaputhupatti village. Residents staged a road blockade demanding better safety measures on the route | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Four students of a private higher secondary school and a driver were injured after the school bus they were travelling in was hit by a container lorry on the Chennai-Bengaluru National Highway (NH 48) at Vadaputhupatti village, around two kilometres from Ambur town in Tirupattur district on Saturday (September 19, 2026), affecting traffic movement on the route.The injured students were identified as I. Rohit (6) and M. Aswanth (7), both Class 2 students, and I. Micher (12) and I. Jannet Juliya (12), both studying in Class 6. All of them belong to Vadaputhupatti village and are students of St. Joseph’s Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Pernambut town in Vellore district.Initial inquiries revealed that after picking up six students from the village, school bus driver P. Sugumar (47), a native of Ambur, was proceeding towards Ambur on the village road. As he steered towards the carriageway of the national highway, he encountered an incoming container lorry, proceeding from Chennai to Hosur.The police said that the container lorry hit the school bus on the national highway at around 8 a.m. Sugumar suffered injuries to his head and left leg. Lorry driver K. Shyam Sundar Misra (30), a native of Uttar Pradesh, also sustained minor injuries.Other motorists and passersby immediately alerted the Ambur Taluk police and 108 ambulances. The injured students and the driver have been admitted to the Government Taluk Hospital in Ambur town. Their condition is stable. A case was registered. Later, lorry driver Shyam Sundar Misra was arrested.Residents block roadAgitated residents of the village, including parents and relatives of the injured students, blocked the national highway, demanding better safety measures on the stretch. Residents said that they have been demanding a subway or a bridge at the intersection of the national highway to prevent accidents such as these. “Petitions have been given to the district administration on many occasions. However, no action has been taken to introduce safety measures, including the construction of a new bridge,” said K. Valli, a resident.Tirupattur Superintendent of Police Akshay Anil Wakhare, revenue, and NHAI officials pacified the agitated residents, who dispersed peacefully after officials assured them that steps will be taken to ensure the safety of motorists on the route.The police said that traffic was affected for nearly two hours on the stretch.Later, Tirupattur Collector V. Nallasivan met the injured students at the government hospital in Ambur town. Published - September 19, 2026 11:45 am IST