CHENNAI: Five youngsters, including four students, were killed and 12 others injured after a car collided with a bus head-on near Mahabalipuram.
The deceased have been identified as Karthik (21), a law student from Teynampet, Satheesh (21), a supermarket salesperson from Perambur, Nethaji and Thamem, who were third-year botany students at a private college, and Dhilip, another college student pursuing biotechnology in a private university.
A few sources told the police that Nethaji was a professional racer, but investigations are on to verify the information.
Police said the five youngsters are believed to have gone to Puducherry for a birthday celebration and were returning by car around 12.30 am on Thursday.
“On reaching Kadambadi village three km away from Mamallapuram., their car crashed into a bus bound for Cuddalore. The high-impact accident killed all five on the spot,” said a senior police officer who visited the spot.
The officer further said witnesses said the youngsters were speeding.
“Nethaji, who was driving the car at high speed, had overtaken another car 15 minutes before the accident. The occupants of that car followed, saw the accident and informed the police,” said the officer.
“The impact was so high that when we reached the spot two occupants in the car were still alive but the car was crushed under the bus and a team from the fire and service rescue struggled for nearly two and a half hours, trying to rescue the men who, however, succumbed to injuries by then,” added the officer.
When asked if the car driver was wearing a seat belt and was under the influence of alcohol, the officer said there were no signs of wearing a seat belt and there were a few alcohol bottles in the car.
The investigation officer added that the private bus had 17 passengers on board who were returning to Cuddalore after attending a wedding reception in Chennai.
The officer said the roads where the accident took place had sign-boards and there were no curves which made it easy for the driver to speed.
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