Mumbai: Four people were injured, one of them seriously, after a privately operated BEST bus went out of control and rammed into 14 vehicles while negotiating a turn on the congested SV Road on Friday.The BEST bus ploughed into at least 14 vehicles, including nine autorickshaws, four private cars and a goods tempo, before coming to a halt. (Satish Bate/Hindustan Times)While the bus driver, Sahil Sawant, 30, claimed that the brakes had failed, the police and the public transport undertaking said they were investigating whether a mechanical defect, human error or another factor caused the crash.The accident once again puts the spotlight on BEST’s wet-lease model, which has come under scrutiny following a series of crashes involving privately-operated buses running on behalf of the undertaking. HT could not immediately ascertain which wet-lease operator owned the bus involved in Friday’s accident. The bus was operating on route 242 between Millat Nagar and Andheri West bus station.The accident occurred around 4.15 pm on the southbound carriageway of the arterial SV Road near the Andheri subway, one of the busiest traffic intersections in the western suburbs. “While taking a right turn from Caesar Road onto SV Road, the driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle, causing it to plough into multiple vehicles,” said a BEST official. “We are investigating if there was any technical failure or human error.”When HT spoke to the driver, Sawant, he claimed that the brakes had failed. “I took a right turn and was going towards the Andheri subway. The bus might have been travelling at 25-30 kmph. When I tried to apply the brakes, the pedal went straight inside multiple times, but the bus didn’t halt,” said Sawant, who has been driving BEST buses for the last four to five years.The bus ploughed into at least 14 vehicles, including nine autorickshaws, four private cars and a goods tempo, before coming to a halt, officials said. Police said three people sustained minor injuries, while one person suffered major injuries. The injured were taken to the civic-run Cooper Hospital and nearby private hospitals for treatment. HT was not able to ascertain the nature of the injuries.The bus was later towed to the Andheri bus station after the accident site was cleared. Sawant and the conductor, Kiran Appa Chavan, who are employed by the wet-lease operator, were taken to the DN Nagar police station for questioning.Police said they have issued a notice of appearance to Sawant under section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. A case is being registered under sections 281 (rash or negligent driving) and 125 (acts endangering human life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The complainant is Vinod Kumar Yadav, 39, an autorickshaw driver who sustained minor injuries in the crash. His autorickshaw was among the 14 vehicles the bus rammed into.This was the second major accident involving a wet-lease BEST bus in just over a month. On June 8, an electric BEST bus lost control near Plaza Cinema in Dadar, crashing into several vehicles and killing one person while injuring six others. Out of BEST’s total fleet of 2,776, as many as 2,527 are operated on a wet lease.Transport experts have repeatedly raised concerns over driver training, route familiarisation and operational safety, particularly on congested city roads with heavy traffic and complex junctions. The accident led to congestion on SV Road for more than an hour, as damaged vehicles were removed and the bus was towed away.Officials said a detailed technical inspection of the bus would be carried out to determine whether there was any mechanical defect. CCTV footage from the area is also expected to be examined as part of the investigation. BEST officials said further action would be taken after the inquiry establishes the cause of the accident.Meanwhile, the police are recording statements of the bus crew, the injured passengers and eyewitnesses as part of their investigation.