MANDYA: In a bid to avoid toll payment on Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway, four members of a same family lost their lives after the SUV in which they were travelling was hit by a KSRTC Airavat bus near Tubinakere in Mandya on Thursday afternoon.
The deceased have been identified as Satyananda Raje Urs (51), his wife Nishchitha (45) and, Chandra Raje Urs (62) and his wife Sumedini Rani (50). Residents of JP Nagar in Bengaluru, the family was on their way to Periyapatna in Mysuru district for a family event.
As Satyananda Raje Urs’s father-in-law had passed away, the family members were travelling from Bengaluru to Siguru village in Periyapatna taluk. Satyananda Raje Urs, who was an electric contractor and Chandra Raje Urs, a retired junior engineer, are cousins. Chandra Raje Urs was behind the wheels when the accident took place.
The police said the accident occurred when Chandra Raje Urs, tried to take the service road near Tubinakere exit to avoid the expressway toll. As he suddenly slowed down the vehicle to take a turn towards the service road, the speeding Airavat bus which was coming from behind rammed into the car.
The impact was so severe that the car was dragged for over 50 metres. While two occupants of the car were killed on the spot, the remaining died on their way to MIMS Hospital.
Mandya police and fire service personnel rushed to the spot and with the help of the people, pulled out the injured and rushed them to the hospital.
IGP (Southern Range) Dr M B Boralingaiah and SP Mallikarjuna Baladandi visited the spot.