Nagpur: A 32-year-old woman and her three-year-old son had a miraculous escape after being mowed down by a speeding private travel bus which dragged them for 30m at Vaishnodevi Chowk on Tuesday, leaving the duo critically injured.The 32-year-old woman, Damini Uthda, picked her son, Rivansh, from school and was returning to her Deshpande Layout home on a scooty, when a speeding bus from Pardi collided head-on, trapping the vehicle and the victims under the front wheel, said police. The woman and her child continued to be propelled forward on the road after the high-speed collision, leaving them bloodied and bruised before the bus finally screeched to a halt. The driver didn’t stop the bus till passersby created a commotion, said eyewitnesses, who claimed the bumper saved them from coming directly under the tyre. The incident took place around 12:40pm in Nandanvan police limits.The mother-and-son duo suffered serious head injuries and are currently admitted in the ICU of a city hospital. An FIR was registered at Nandanvan police station by the woman’s husband, Hemant Uthda, 38, resident of Wardhaman Nagar. The accused driver has been identified as Chandrakumar Lihzare, 32, resident of Kanji House Chowk, Nagpur.As crowds swelled at Vaishnodevi Chowk, the driver tried to escape, but was caught by locals and handed over to police. A case of rash and negligent driving has been registered against him. The incident triggered anger over the absence of traffic management at one of the busiest city junctions.Residents alleged no home guard or traffic cop were present at Vaishnodevi Chowk, which caters to thousands of vehicles every day. They claimed a woman home guard arrived much later and soon took a lunch break.Traffic police who subsequently arrived at the spot allegedly misbehaved with the crowd and told them that “cameras were installed, so there was no need for police”. The remark was grossly insensitive and triggered outrage, an eyewitness told TOI.Citizens demanded that the police commissioner and DCP Traffic take serious note of the incident and ensure permanent deployment of traffic police at Vaishnodevi Chowk. Residents said private travels buses regularly ply without a conductor, with only the driver managing the operation, which increases the risk of accidents. Police have seized both vehicles and Nandanvan police are investigating the case.