Seven members of two families, including two children, were killed late on Saturday night when a Tavera crashed into a parked lorry on NH-7 near Hosur.
Five others, who sustained serious injuries, have been admitted to hospitals in Bangalore and Tamil Nadu.
The deceased have been identified as Anandan (50), a police sub-inspector, wife Uma (40), daughter Sandhya (12), Babu (42), his wife Ramani (31), son Arun (17), and Vilvanadan alias Villu (30).
The injured are Shalini (15) and Thirthi (7), daughters of Babu, Aishwarya (15), daughter of Anandan, Murugan (37) and his son Diwakar (4). They were all residents of Vellore.
According to police sources, the incident took place around 1.15 am. The families were on their way to Bangalore for a vacation. The driver of the lorry, carrying granite slabs, had parked the vehicle near a dangerous curve on the road as one of its tyres had burst.
He had not turned the indicator lights on and this, combined with bad lighting on the highway and speeding by the Tavera driver, caused the accident, they said.
“Since accidents are quite frequent here, the highway patrol and the Shoolagiri police (in Tamil Nadu) were nearby and heard the crash. They rushed to the spot but seven people had died on the spot. The injured were immediately taken to various hospitals,” a police officer said. A car which was behind the Tavera crashed into it but none of its passengers were harmed.
The police have registered a case under IPC sections 279 (rash driving on public road), 337 (endangering the life or personal safety of others) and 304A (attempt to murder).
The lorry driver has been arrested.