CHENNAI: A late-night journey to attend a temple festival ended in tragedy for a Chennai family after their autorickshaw hit a lorry near Panpakkam in Tiruvallur district, killing four of its six occupants, including two 10-year-old children.
The autorickshaw driver’s wife L Poongodi (39), his daughter L Dhanalakshmi (10), his mother-in-law Radha (65), and his nephew Gokul (10) were killed in the accident that occurred near a government bus stop late Saturday night. Autorickshaw driver Loganathan (42) and another nephew Prashanth (15) sustained injuries.
Police suspect Loganathan may have dozed off since it was late in the night, causing the autorickshaw to hit the lorry travelling ahead of it and overturn. However, the exact cause of the crash is still under investigation.
The family, hailing from Kodungaiyur in Chennai, left home around 11 pm on Saturday for a temple festival in Periyapalayam the following day. They were nearing Panpakkam when the accident occurred, police said. Poongodi died on the spot. Local residents and passersby alerted the police and helped shift the other five occupants to the Periyapalayam Primary Health Centre, where Radha and Gokul succumbed to their injuries.
Loganathan, Dhanalakshmi and Prashanth were given first aid at the PHC and later shifted to Tiruvallur Government Medical College Hospital. Dhanalakshmi died while undergoing treatment while the remaining are not completely out of danger yet, police said.
“The six were travelling together, with Loganathan driving the vehicle. We are yet to ascertain the exact circumstances that led to the crash and are examining the sequence of events before he lost control of the vehicle,” a police officer said.
The impact left the autorickshaw badly damaged and overturned on the road. Police cleared the vehicle and sent the bodies to Tiruvallur Government Hospital for autopsy. The Periyapalayam police have registered a case and further investigation is under way.