HASSAN: Four persons of a family were charred to death when their car caught fire after hitting a road-side public toilet on Bengaluru- Mangaluru National Highway 75 near Udayapura of Channarayapatna taluk on Thursday.
The deceased were identified as Vivek Naik (45), his wife Reshma Naik ( 32), son Vignesh Naik (8) and daughter Vinanti Naik (10), from Nayakawadi village of Kundapur taluk in Udupi district.Vivek Naik was working as the South Karnataka regional manager of Mumbai-based Spykar.
According to Babita, traffic sub-inspector of Channarayapatna taluk, the Naik family was settled in Bengaluru for 15 years and had been residing at Mahaveer Desire apartment at Chikkabanavara in Bengaluru for five years. The family was going to Nayakawadi to attend the death rituals of Vivek’s father Vittal Nayak scheduled for Friday. Vivek, along with his family, left Bengaluru around 5 am and the accident occurred at 8 am. Vivek was driving the car at 140 kmph, the SI said. The locals rushed to the spot immediately after the accident and tried to douse the fire with water and sand. The fire broke out in the engine first and engulfed the car within no time, eyewitnesses said.
The villagers also had a tough time in removing the bodies as all four doors were jammed due to the impact of the accident.The police removed the dead bodies by breaking open the doors, she added. Channarayapatna Traffic police and fire fighters also rushed to the spot and shifted the bodied to Channarayapatna taluk hospital. Vinayak, brother of Vivek, visited the hospital and collected the dead bodies. Superintendent of Police AN Prakash Gowda said rash and negligent driving is the reason for the accident.