KOCHI: Two women died after a pickup van knocked them down while they were trying to cross the road at Athani in Kochi in the early hours of Monday.
The Nedumbassery police registered a case and took Velu, the van’s driver into custody. Nedumbassery natives Sheeba Satheesan, 52, of Thaivalappil house and Mariamma, 52, of Vallathukkaran house died on the spot.
They were employed at the canteen of Kerala Agro Machinery Corporation Ltd (KAMCO) in Athani. The accident occurred around 7 AM, while the two women were crossing the road to reach KAMCO, located just 1.5km away from their homes.
“The Aluva-bound pickup van from Thrissur knocked the women down. They were severely injured and died on the spot,” said a police officer, adding that negligent driving led to the accident.
“There are no brake marks on the road, which suggests the driver of the van seemingly dozed off behind the wheel. We are checking whether he was drunk. A case of culpable homicide has been registered,” the officer said.