India star cricketer Rishabh Pant, who suffered a horrific car accident on December 30 morning, was rescued by a driver and conductor of Haryana Roadways, who ensured he safely move out of the car that had caught fire.
Sushil Kumar, the driver of the Haryana Roadways bus, and his conductor Paramjeet Nain were the first ones to rush towards the star cricketer’s mangled car to help him.
Rishabh Pant, 25, escaped before the car burst. He is currently undergoing treatment at Max Hospital, Dehradun. According to the local police, Pant had dozed off while driving, ramming into the divider and causing the car crash.
Fortunately, the Haryana Roadways bus driver, Sushil Kumar, who was present there, immediately rescued him. Sushil revealed that he was driving on the other side of the road – from Haridwar to Haryana when he saw the cricketer’s car crash on the other side.
Luckily, Sushil spotted that the car was about to catch fire and helped Rishabh safely to come out of it.
“I am a driver of Haryana Roadways, Panipat depot. Our bus has left Haridwar at 4:25 in the morning. I was on my way when I saw a car, being driven at a speed of 60-70, got disbalanced and crashed into the divider. After the impact, the car landed on the wrong side of the road – the one that goes to Delhi. The car had screeched onto the second lane of the road seeing which I stopped my bus. The car had already caught sparks so the conductor and I rushed to get him out of the car. By then the fire has started. Then, three more people came running and got him on the safe side,” Sushil Kumar told the media.
He further informed he did not know who Rishabh Pant is until the cricketer told him about it. Not wasting time or making videos like people so these days, Sushil did what was necessary at that time and called the ambulance.
He added that he then informed the police who came within 10 minutes to the accident site while Nain called an ambulance.
“I called the National Highway, but no one answered. Then I ran up to the police and the conductor called for an ambulance. We kept asking him, is he fine. Gave him water. He told us that he is Rishabh Pant. I don’t follow cricket so I didn’t know who he was but my conductor then told me ‘Sushil… he is an India cricketer’,” said the brave bus driver.
Sushil stated that even though Pant’s mother’s phone was not reachable initially, the ambulance arrived in due time to take him to a local hospital.
“He gave us his mother’s number. We called her but her phone was switched off. The ambulance arrived after 15 minutes and we got in him. He had also scattered his money on the road, which we picked up and handed to him in his hands. I asked him if he was alone in the car. He said there is no one. His face was covered in blood and his clothes were torn and his back was scratched. He was panicking and limping,” said Sushil Kumar.
As per Pant’s medical reports, he has lacerative wounds on his forehead and left eye, abrasions on his back and a ligament tear in his knee. There are no burns and no fractures either.
The Haryana Roadways driver Sushil Kumar is a resident of Balla Village, Karnal.
Meanwhile, Devendra Sharma, Pant’s coach, told Cricbuzz that the family was briefed of Pant’s condition, which is stable but requires long-term treatment. The ligament injury on his knee needs treatment and the BCCI has advised the Max Hospital in Dehradun not to undertake it immediately. He will soon be flown to Delhi or Mumbai where the next course of treatment will be decided. Meanwhile, the scans of the brain and spine are said to be normal.
