KALLAKURICHI: Three people, including a woman, were killed after a speeding car rammed into the rear of a tanker lorry near Sembiyan Mahadevi on the Ulundurpet-Salem GST Road in Kallakurichi on Friday.
The deceased were identified as Santosh (28), who was driving the car, his friend Suryakumar (24), and Santosh’s aunt Bakiyalakshmi (62). All three died on the spot, police said.
The lorry, carrying tar from Chennai to Salem, was being driven by Durairaj.
As the vehicle was passing over a flyover near Ulundurpet, the driver attempted to steer left when a car coming from Cuddalore via Padirikuppam towards Seelanayakkanpatti crashed into its rear at high speed, the police said. The impact was so severe that the front portion of the car was completely crushed.
Traffic was disrupted for a while following the accident. On information, the Elavanasurkottai police and a highway patrol team rushed to the spot and began clearing the debris.
Fire and Rescue Services personnel from Ulundurpet used hydraulic equipment to remove the mangled remains of the car and recover the bodies, which were later sent to the Kallakurichi Government Medical College Hospital for postmortem. The Elavanasurkottai police have registered a case.