KOCHI: One person was killed and two others seriously injured after the car they were travelling in skidded and crashed into a tree on the roadside on the NH stretch at Chakkaraparambu near Vyttila on Wednesday.
Anoop Venu alias Vishnu, 31, of Adattu Road in Pala, died while Cheriyachan Francis, 37, and Manu, 26, who are also from Pala, were injured in the accident that took place around 10.50 pm. Speeding is believed to be the cause of the accident.
The police said the car skidded several meters before hitting the tree. It was fully damaged in the impact. Attempts to rescue the occupants took several minutes. They were rushed to a private hospital nearby where Vishnu succumbed to injuries. Hospital authorities said Cheriyachan’s condition is critical and he is under observation, while Manu remains in the ICU. Vishnu’s body was handed over to relatives after a postmortem examination.
“Speeding is suspected to be the reason behind the accident. We are examining CCTV camera visuals from the area to ascertain the exact reason,” said an officer with the Palarivattom police station. The officer said since traffic is light on the Vyttila-Edappally stretch at night, speeding by vehicles is common. “We have registered a case and started a probe,” said the officer. A similar accident had taken place on the stretch almost two years ago, in which models Ansi
Kabeer and Dr Anjana Shajan were killed. The car they were in had lost control and rammed a roadside tree on November 1, 2021. The case, which saw several twists and turns, ended in the arrest of the hotelier where the deceased had attended a party. The probe also unearthed details about drug peddlers who used to conduct rave parties at hotels and other places in Kochi.