The police on Saturday said the two-wheeler involved in the bus accident in Kurnool district had earlier met with an accident, leading to the instantaneous death of its rider.
Kurnool district Superintendent of Police Vikrant Patil said Siva Shankar died on the spot after his two-wheeler skidded on the road and he hit the divider, moments before the bus ran over the vehicle.
However, the pillion rider, Erri Swamy, survived with minor injuries, Patil added.
"While approaching Chinna Tekuru village, the two-wheeler skidded, and Siva Shankar fell to his right, hitting the divider. He died on the spot, but pillion rider Erri Swamy survived with minor injuries," Patil said in a press release, debunking the earlier belief that the bus had hit the two-wheeler from behind.
Police said questioning Swamy helped establish that there were two separate accidents in quick succession first involving the two-wheeler, and then the sleeper bus running over it.
"With the latest information, it can be concluded that the bus did not hit the two-wheeler from behind but ran over it after the skidding accident," the police said.
As many as 19 passengers travelling in the private bus and a motor bike rider were charred to death after it collided with the two-wheeler at Chinnatekuru village of Kurnool district.
There were 44 passengers in the bus and several managed to escape the fire.
According to police, Shankar and Swamy had left Lakshmipuram village around 2 am on Friday to drop Swamy at Tuggali village.
En route, they stopped at the HP petrol bunk near the Kia car showroom to refuel, spending Rs 300 at 2.24 am. A video of the halt later went viral.
Shortly after resuming their journey, the two-wheeler skidded, causing Shankar to fall and hit the divider. Wet and muddy roads due to heavy rainfall in the region contributed to the accident, police said.
"When Swamy pulled Shankar from the middle of the road and checked his breath, he realised that Shankar had died on the spot. Even as he was trying to move the bike aside, the bus rushed in and ran over it, dragging it some distance," Patil said, describing the sequence of events.
Following the two back-to-back accidents and the bus catching fire, Swamy fled to his native village of Tuggali.
Meanwhile, the police said that the driver of the ill-fated Bengaluru-bound bus had escaped the inferno by jumping out through the passenger door and failed to gauge the situation.
Currently, both the driver, Miriyala Lakshmaiah (42) and the additional driver are in police custody. A case was filed regarding the incident on Friday.
"Once the fire started (and) the bus came to a halt, through the passenger door he (Lakshmaiah) jumped out. He did not understand the intensity," Kurnool superintendent of police Vikrant Patil told PTI.
After escaping the raging fire, Lakshmaiah woke up the additional driver sleeping in the luggage rack at the bottom portion of the bus between the front and rear wheels.
Realising that they cannot enter the vehicle, together they started breaking the window panes with a rod used to change tyres, enabling some passengers to escape the blaze, said Patil.
Some onlookers also broke a few more window panes while some others were broken from inside by the panic-stricken passengers rushing to escape, he said.
However, the fire continued to rage and engulf the entire bus, prompting the scared Lakshmaiah to flee the spot.
Police picked him up from Kurnool on Friday afternoon. He is being held culpable for the disaster.
Police booked Lakshmaiah for negligence and overspeeding.
They had registered the case at the Ulindakonda police station under sections 125 (a) (endangering human life) and 106 (1) (causing death by negligence) of BNS Act.
According to police, the bus belonging to V Kaveri Travels with registration number DD 01 N 9490 is not registered in the southern state.
Patil noted that it was registered in the Union Territory of Daman and Diu but enjoyed an all-India permit to engage in business in Andhra Pradesh.
As part of the probe, police seized some papers from the travel company, including an all-India permit, transport permit, insurance and others.
Further, Patil said police are ascertaining the fire safety mechanisms employed by the bus operator, among others.
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