What happened here
Cause not yet confirmed; police are checking mechanical failure and driver negligence. Reports say a BEST bus lost control and hit two cars waiting at a red light. Lesson: operators must keep buses and drivers checked, because cars stopped at a signal have no way out of the path. At around 8.30 pm on Monday 9 November 2026, traffic was halted at the Lodha Junction signal in Wadala, Mumbai, with a BEST bus at the red light and an Ertiga and a Creta stopped immediately behind it. According to a Mumbai Police official quoted by Mid-Day and India Today, a second BEST bus approaching from behind the Creta lost control and crashed into both cars, which were sandwiched between the buses. Hindustan Times, quoting the Wadala Truck Terminus police and DCP Mahendra Pandit, says at least six people were injured: the Ertiga driver was severely hurt, and the three passengers in the Ertiga and the two occupants of the Creta had minor injuries. All were rushed to Sion Hospital by the police; doctors told Hindustan Times that the Ertiga driver was critical and intubated, and the others had multiple injuries but seemed stable. India Today says the Ertiga driver had serious leg injuries and three passengers minor injuries, and that a man and a woman in the Creta had minor injuries. Mid-Day reports that, according to BEST's command and control centre, a Chalo bus rammed two cars waiting behind a stationary BEST bus, and says two of the injured were critical. Hindustan Times says the accident-causing bus was a luxury electric AC BEST Chalo bus. Police are looking at mechanical failure or driver negligence and say they will soon register an offence. The vehicles were moved aside and traffic resumed. A Times of India headline gives five injured and two critical and says the driver was detained; we could not open it. We give no names. Figures are from the reports opened on 10 November 2026 (IST) and may change.
Quick answers
What happened at Lodha Junction, Wadala, on 9 November 2026?
At about 8.30 pm a BEST bus approaching the signal lost control and crashed into an Ertiga and a Creta waiting behind another BEST bus, sandwiching the cars. At least six people were injured.
How many were hurt?
At least six, taken to Sion Hospital. The Ertiga driver is critical and intubated, says Hindustan Times; the rest were minor or stable. Outlets differ on how many were critical.
What caused it?
Not established. Police are checking mechanical failure and driver negligence and will register an offence.
Was anyone killed?
No death is reported in the pages we opened.
Was the driver arrested?
A Times of India headline says the driver was detained; the pages we opened do not say so, and we could not open that report.
How can car occupants protect themselves at signals?
Wear seat belts in every seat, keep a gap from the vehicle ahead and watch the mirror when traffic stops. See: Seat belts, child seats and helmets: what the law…
Is there a Mumbai safety guide?
Yes: Mumbai safety guide
What happened
At about 8.30 pm on Monday, 9 November 2026, traffic was halted at the red signal at Lodha Junction in Wadala, Mumbai. A BEST bus stood first at the light, with an Ertiga and a Creta stopped behind it. Mid-Day, quoting a Mumbai Police official, says a second BEST bus approaching from behind the Creta lost control and crashed into both cars. Hindustan Times, quoting the Wadala Truck Terminus police and DCP Mahendra Pandit, says the two cars were sandwiched between the two buses.
At least six people were injured. According to Hindustan Times, the driver of the Ertiga was severely injured, while the three passengers in his car and the two occupants of the Creta had minor injuries. The police took all of them to Sion Hospital, where doctors told Hindustan Times that the Ertiga driver was critical and intubated, and that the others had multiple injuries but seemed stable. The offending bus was a luxury electric AC BEST Chalo bus, according to the police officer quoted. Police said the cause, mechanical failure or driver negligence, was being investigated and that an offence would soon be registered. We give no names; Hindustan Times names the injured.
What the reports say
- What happened: A BEST bus lost control and hit two cars waiting at a signal behind another BEST bus at Lodha Junction, Wadala (Mid-Day, India Today, Hindustan Times).
- Injured: At least six; the Ertiga driver most seriously; the other five minor or stable (Hindustan Times, India Today).
- Where they went: All were rushed to Sion Hospital by the police (Hindustan Times).
- The bus: A luxury electric AC BEST Chalo bus (Hindustan Times); a Chalo bus per BEST’s command and control centre (Mid-Day).
- Cause: Under investigation: mechanical failure or driver negligence; an offence is to be registered (Hindustan Times).
- Clean-up: The vehicles were moved to the roadside to clear the congestion at the junction (Mid-Day).
Where reports differ and what we do not know
- Injured count: Six in Mid-Day, India Today and Hindustan Times; a Times of India headline says five injured, two critical (not opened).
- Condition: Hindustan Times says one critical and intubated; Mid-Day says two critical; India Today says serious leg injuries for the driver and minor injuries for the rest.
- Time and place: about 8.30 pm at Lodha Junction (Hindustan Times, PTI); about 9 pm at the Bhakti Park signal in the Free Press Journal’s report.
- Day: India Today’s page says Sunday evening; Mid-Day and Hindustan Times say Monday, and India Today’s own page is stamped just after midnight on 10 November, so we use Monday 9 November.
- Driver: A Times of India headline says the bus driver was detained; the pages we opened do not mention an arrest.
- Not known: The speed of the bus, whether the brakes failed, the driver’s name and condition, the operator’s maintenance record and the outcome of the police case.
What this case teaches
A car stopped at a red light can do nothing when a heavy vehicle comes from behind, and the people most at risk are those in the cars sandwiched in front. Whatever the police find, the lesson for operators is the same: brakes checked before every shift, speed set for the junction, and drivers who have had enough rest. For a car driver the best protection is a seat belt in every seat and a habit of watching the mirror when traffic halts. The police have not named a cause; they say it is mechanical failure or negligence.
See also our cases on the Belapur bus pile-up and the Khar West crash in the Mumbai region, and our guides to safety in buses, trains and metros, road crash emergency response and the Mumbai safety guide.
- Traffic is halted at the red signal at Lodha Junction, Wadala; a BEST bus is first, with an Ertiga and a Creta behind it
- A second BEST bus approaching from behind the Creta loses control and hits both cars, which are sandwiched between the two buses
- Police take six injured to Sion Hospital; the Ertiga driver is critical and intubated, the others stable (Hindustan Times)
- The vehicles are moved to the roadside and traffic is cleared (Mid-Day, Hindustan Times)
- Police say they are examining mechanical failure and negligence and will register an offence; no finding is out
Why consequences escalated
- A BEST Chalo bus hit two cars waiting at the Lodha Junction signal in Wadala at about 8.30 pm on 9 November 2026, sandwiching them against another BEST bus.
- At least six people were injured; the Ertiga driver is the most serious.
- Police are checking mechanical failure and driver negligence; no cause is stated.
- Outlets differ on how many were critical and on the injured count; no death is reported.
- The bus driver and the condition of the bus brakes are not described in the reports.
Failures and risk multipliers
- No finding of fault has been made and none is stated here, about the driver, the operator or the bus.
- How fast the bus was going and whether the driver braked is not reported.
- Whether the brakes failed, whether the driver lost consciousness or was distracted, or whether the bus had been checked recently is not reported.
- Cars waiting behind a bus at a signal have no way to see or avoid a vehicle coming from behind.
- Whether the bus was inspected recently is not reported.
Actions that reduce risk
- Drivers of cars: at a signal, keep a gap from the vehicle ahead so that you can move out if you need to, and keep an eye on the mirror when traffic stops.
- Passengers: wear seat belts in every seat; they matter even when the car is stopped.
- Bus operators and drivers: check brakes before every shift, slow before every junction, and report any pull or soft pedal at once.
- Operators of any bus, owned or hired: apply the same maintenance and driver-fatigue checks to every bus on the road.
- Bystanders: call 112 and 108, keep traffic away from the wreck, do not pull the injured out unless there is fire.
- Authorities: publish the cause and the brake-inspection finding and say what changes for the operator.
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