CHENNAI: In a freak accident, a tipper lorry tumbled off the Anna flyover here as the driver was asleep in the wee hours of Tuesday. Breaking through the parapet wall on the side of the road, the lorry landed on two parked vehicles from a height of about 12 feet as a man driving his auto rickshaw below had a miraculous escape.
Police said the accident occurred when the lorry driver, Manikandan (24), was heading to Chromepet after dropping a load off at Thiruvottiyur. The vehicle smashed the parapet wall and plunged into the service lane of Anna Salai.
Footage from a CCTV camera shows that an auto passing underneath would have been crushed if it was delayed by even a second. Two Tata Ace vehicles used by employees of a timber shop were crushed by the lorry.
“I was returning home after dropping a customer at Park hotel. I went under the bridge and reached the service lane. Hardly two seconds later, I heard a loud noise and my auto rickshaw shook. A huge piece of concrete tore the roof of my vehicle and fell on the back seat. I immediately jumped out and saw a lorry falling over the two Tata Aces parked on the service lane,” said Ravikumar, the auto rickshaw driver.
Though he rushed to rescue the driver of the lorry, the latter had managed to get out of the vehicle, he added. “I was to take a right turn in search of customers; but as I was tired, I decided to go home and took the left turn,” he recounted.
The lorry driver, a resident of Tambaram, was returnign from Thiruvottiyur after unloading black stones at a site. Commuters nearby who witnessed the incident rushed the driver to the Royapettah government hospital for treatment.
According to police sources, the driver of the lorry had fallen asleep at the wheel and lost control of the vehicle. The lorry has been removed from the spot and further investigations are on. A case has been registered with the Pondy Bazaar traffic police under sections IPC 279 (Rash driving or riding on a public way), 336 (Act endangering life or personal safety of others), 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others).
It may be noted that in October 2012, an MTC bus carrying more than 30 passengers fell off the flyover in a similar accident.