Child Dies as Drunk Driver Rams SUV into 108 Ambulance

A 108-ambulance met with an accident after a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), driven by an inebriated man, hit the vehicle at Anna Nagar. 

MADURAI: A 108-ambulance met with an accident after a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), driven by an inebriated man, hit the vehicle at Anna Nagar.  The patient, a 45-day-old baby girl, who was being ferried in the ambulance passed away later at the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) on Saturday.

Radhakrishnan and Krishnaveni, parents of the baby Ragini Sri, raised the suspicion that the death could have been caused due to the accident. The couple was providing treatment to their daughter for wheezing at a private clinic in Melur. When her condition worsened on Sunday evening, doctors referred the baby to the GRH, said police sources.

Ragini was being ferried in a 108-ambulance to the hospital. Around 5 pm, when the vehicle reached Madurai Aavin on Sivaganga road, an SUV collided with it. V Senthil, a medical assistant in the ambulance, sustained minor injuries, while the baby and her grandmother fell inside the vehicle.

Investigations revealed  that A Balakrishnan (32) of Sivaganga drove the SUV, allegedly in an inebriated state. He is the personal driver of the Motor Vehicles Inspector, said sources. Three others accompanying him were also found drunk.

The baby was shifted to the GRH, about two km from the accident spot, in another 108-ambulance. However, the baby died of cardiac arrest, said hospital sources. Alanganallur police registered a case of suspicious death. A postmortem will be done on Monday.

A case has been filed against the driver under Sections 279 and 337 of the IPC. However, it will be altered when the city police receive a certificate from the GRH stating that the accused was intoxicated, leading to the accident, said Samant Rohan Rajendra, Deputy Commissioner of Police Traffic (in-charge).

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