Woman dies in Kolkata's VIP Road bike accident as unclipped chin strap turns fatal

KOLKATA: A 29-year-old central government executive riding pillion with a helmet on, but the chin strap unclipped, was killed on Friday when the headgear came off during an accident on VIP Road and her head hit the road. The accident happened around 9.45am, when Moumita Ghosh Pal and her husband Hiranmay were crossing Kaikhali on the way to her office at the CGO Complex in Salt Lake.
Police said Hiranmay, 32, was trying to overtake a yellow cab from the right and in the attempt the bike’s handle brushed against the rear side of the cab. The bump sent him off balance. The bike tilted but Hiranmay was able to arrest the fall by putting his right foot on the ground. However, Moumita, who was sitting with both legs on one side, fell on her back. Her helmet had come off even before the fall and the rear wheel of a bus hit her bare head after she fell.
Barring her head, Moumita did not have any injury on her body. Hiranmay was unhurt and the bike and the helmets had minor scratches. Moumita was taken to a nearby private hospital where the doctor declared her dead on arrival.
She could have been alive if the helmet had not slipped, feel the police.
“If the helmet was properly strapped on, it would have taken a major amount of the impact. Hence, even if she had fallen and was hit by the bus, there was a faint chance of survival. But here she was caught completely off guard,” said an officer of Bidhannagar City Police’s traffic department.
Moumita, a junior accountant with National Sample Survey Organisation, a unit under the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation of the Government of India, and Hiranmay, an assistant manager at the Air Traffic Control of Kolkata airport, were about to celebrate their third anniversary on January 26. “The two were extremely excited, making plans for the anniversary and look what fate had in store for them,” said Hiranmay’s colleague Suman Halder.
A witness, who was on a bike behind the couple, said he had heard the two speaking loudly moments before the accident.
“Right before the accident, I heard the man saying that the woman was asking him to hurry up as she was getting late for office.”
Police have seized the bus and the bike and have arrested the driver for rash and negligent driving. “Since the woman came under the wheels of the bus, we have to arrest the driver. But in this case, the driver actually did not have any chance to save the woman,” said an officer.
He added that the accident is a lesson for riders that wearing a helmet is not sufficient. Strapping it properly is equally important. “Not strapping the helmet properly is as bad as not wearing it. People should understand that helmets are not meant to be worn to just avoid traffic fines but for the safety of the rider,” the officer said.