KADAPA: Four people, including three minors, who were enjoying a bonfire by the roadside near Gondipalli village in Pendlimarri mandal of Kadapa district were crushed to death when a 26-year-old ran his car over them on Monday. The vehicle then overturned, killing the driver as well. The gruesome accident severely injured two other children near the bonfire and two youngsters travelling in the car. They have been rushed to RIMS Hospital here. According to police, a group of 10 children and elders were standing by the bonfire along Kadapa-Pulivendula road when the speeding Maruti Indica ran over them.
The driver is suspected of having been in an inebriated condition. The deceased have been identified as C Giri (15), L Lakshmi Narasimha (14), B Karthik (14), G Bhaskar (26) — all from Indiranagar of Gondipalli village — and L Brahmananda Reddy (26), the driver, from Rasoolpalle village in CK Dinne mandal. Pendlimarri police sub-inspector Sk Roshan said eyewitnesses claimed the driver appeared to be under the influence of alcohol.
“We are investigating the case,” he said. A case was registered under sections 304 A (culpable homicide) and 334 (voluntarily causing hurt on provocation). A pall of gloom descended upon Indiranagar with the shocked families of the victims unable to hold back their tears.
The three boys, C Giri, B Karthik and L Lakshmi Narasimha, had only just left home after cutting a cake to celebrate New Year’s Day with their parents when the car rammed into them. Giri’s father Venkataiah, a farmhand, said he had high hopes for his only son and that his death had ruined the future of his family.