CHENNAI: A city resident was burnt to death when his car went up in flames after hitting a barrel placed on the road by police near Retteri flyover on Sunday.
M Dhakshanamoorthy, 35, was driving a Maruthi Alto car at high speed at around 3am when he hit one of the barrels police had placed with barricades on the Jawaharlal Nehru 100 feet road.
“After hitting the barrel the car swung to the other side of the road and quickly went up in flames,” said a police officer. “Passers-by tried to put out the fire and save him. But it was too late,” said a traffic policeman. In the video of the burning car, circulated on social media, people can be heard shouting that a man is inside the car.
Dhakshanamoorthy’s family is from Andhra Pradesh. They lived in Vadapalani. He was a realtor and share-market consultant. “When leaving home on Friday, he told his family he was going to meet a client at Sirugumi. On Saturday evening, he told them he was heading back home,” said an investigating officer. Asked why the car went up in flames so quickly, a police officer said, “It could be because he was driving fast and gas from the air-conditioner leaked in the impact of the collision. Forensic experts are investigating.” Dhakshanamoorthy is survived by his wife and their 12-year-old daughter.