Accident
The 27-year-old woman who died on Monday evening after a collision with a bus at Leuven station was an Indian doctoral student who had only just arrived in Belgium.
The accident happened on Monday evening just before 5 p.m., when a bus came from Bondgenootlaan and wanted to drive onto the quays of the bus station. A woman walking on the pedestrian lane was grabbed. Emergency services tried to resuscitate her, but she ultimately died in hospital.
The news hits hard at the Faculty of Engineering, Electrical Engineering Department of KU Leuven. 27-year-old Richa Mishra from India had been working there for barely two weeks as a doctoral student in the Electronic Circuits and Systems department. “Everyone at the faculty is very affected,” says KU Leuven. “We deeply sympathize with the family and would like to express our condolences.”
Her family was informed through the Indian embassy on Tuesday morning.
The 46-year-old bus driver’s driver’s license has now been revoked. The driver gave a negative alcohol and drug test, but he was questioned on Monday evening to determine how the accident could have happened. The woman was walking in a place where this is allowed, so it still needs to be explained why she was hit by the bus.
Pedestrian lane
“Leuven bus station is the busiest bus station in Flanders,” says mayor Mohamed Ridouani (Vooruit). “Many traffic flows come together: buses, cyclists, pedestrians, cars and trucks. You can’t separate them all.”
In recent years, measures have been taken to increase road safety, says Ridouani. “For example, additional platforms have been constructed so that bus traffic can be more spread out. A separate lane for pedestrians has also been created. The lady was walking there when the accident occurred, in a place where traffic is actually most organized. So we have to look carefully at what exactly happened.”
The city will consult with De Lijn about how they can manage traffic better. The bus company will only respond once the public prosecutor’s findings are known.
The Martelarenplein at the station will be redeveloped in the coming years. The first design provides for the pedestrian zone at the Peace Monument to be expanded, so that pedestrians have more walking space.
