Three people were killed on the spot in another highway accident involving alleged drunk driving on Monday night.
Kiran (32), who was reportedly drunk, rammed into a stationary Maharashtra-registered lorry at Madanayakanahalli near Nelamangala after a party on Monday night at a dhaba. Three of the car passengers and Kiran’s friends Venkatesh Gowda (48), Srinivas (54) and Aasaiah (59) died on the spot, while Chandru (36) is critically injured. Kiran also sustained injuries.
All are residents of Ramamurthynagar. Kiran had reportedly picked up his four friends to celebrate his becoming a chauffeur. He used to drive an autorickshaw. The friends reportedly hadn’t informed their families that they were going with Kiran.
Despite a rise in such incidents, police have not taken strict action against drunk driving on highways, reportedly due to staff shortage.
After Monday’s accident, traffic was thrown out of gear for more than two-and-half hours on NH-4. Locals protested the “inaction” of the police and RTO officials, and said there were no safety measures on the highways at night. Police said the accident occurred at around 1.30 am and the five were going towards Kunigal after a party in a nearby dhaba.
As they were crossing Padmavathi Convention Hall, Kiran lost control and rammed the car into the lorry, which was parked on the roadside without indicators or parking lights. The police found empty liquor bottles in the car.