MUMBAI, July 21 -- A pedestrian unused to Mumbai's chaotic streets, a BEST bus driver who says the brakes failed, and passengers who complain that buses on route 501 are routinely in poor condition. As investigators piece together what happened in Mankhurd, a ground report examines the circumstances surrounding the fatal crash. The bus driver, Banwari Sharma, 51, says he had worked with Mateshwari Urban Travels, the wet-lease operator of the bus in question, for 14 years. "I have been driving BEST buses in Mumbai for the last three years," he said. Sharma told HT he applied the brakes to slow the bus while turning left, to approach the bus stop at the exit point on the Sion-Panvel highway opposite Vishwakarma Hospital, when the accident happened. "I desperately tried to apply the brakes to avoid autorickshaws that were trying to overtake me from both sides. But the brake didn't work and the bus didn't stop, so I swerved towards the road divider to prevent hurting anyone. But one person didn't move despite me shouting at them to move." Sharma said, "I had been driving the bus for 40 minutes after I took it out from Kurla (east) depot at 7.50 am but I didn't realise the brakes weren't working properly. As I hit the highway, the brakes issue became pronounced as the bus picked speed on the slope." The pedestrian who died, Bhaskar Kagde, 65, was visiting his daughter in Mankhurd. He appeared to be unfamiliar with Mumbai's overwhelming traffic. The injured passengers say, "The buses are in bad condition and it is not uncommon for them to either break down or slow down suddenly," said Shivmangal Maitri,42, whose right shoulder was dislocated in Monday's accident. The bus conductor, Vaibhav Waghmare, 41, also being treated at the same hospital, sustained minor injuries....