Daijiworld Media Network – Beltangady

Beltangady, Feb 20: A 72-year-old bike rider, who was critically injured in a collision between a bus and his motorcycle at Pangala curve near Dharmasthala, passed away at a hospital in Mangaluru on February 19 morning.

The deceased has been identified as Kariyappa Gowda, a resident of Pangala in Dharmasthala village.

The accident occurred on the evening of February 17 when Kariyappa Gowda was riding from Ujire towards Dharmasthala. As he was turning his bike towards the right at the Pangala curve, a speeding bus rammed into his motorcycle. The impact was so severe that the bus dragged the bike to the extreme right side of the road before colliding with a car heading towards Ujire.

Kariyappa Gowda, who sustained grave injuries, was initially rushed to a hospital in Ujire for first aid and later shifted to a private hospital in Mangaluru for advanced treatment. However, he breathed his last on Thursday without responding to medical care.

The deceased was an active member of the Congress party and served as a director of the Dharmasthala milk producers' co-operative society. He was also well-known in the region as a traditional practitioner of herbal medicine (naati vaidya).