CUDDALORE: Four persons, including a four-year-old boy, died and three others were injured in a road accident after a mini lorry they were travelling in rammed a lorry parked on roadside at Chidambaram in the wee hours of Wednesday.
According to a police source, the four were sitting in the cabin of the mini lorry, and were identified as Nagulendiran (25), the driver; S Selvakumar (38), a tiles shop owner in Salem; Selvakumar' son S Mithun (4), and sister-in-law D Karpagavalli (27). The incident happened on the Chidambaram-Seerkazhi bypass road at Koothankoil village.
The mini lorry was loaded with tiles, and was enroute Mathanam village in Mayiladuthurai where Selvakumar's father-in-law's house is under construction. Three labourers — Sivakumar (34), Karupasamy (34), and Perumal (42) — who were also travelling in the mini lorry, sitting besides the load, were injured and taken to Raja Muthiah Medical College Hospital in Chidambaram. The front cabin of the vehicle was completely damaged in the accident, and all four died on the spot. A police source said, "We suspect the driver may have slept while driving, but are yet to confirm it."