CHENNAI: Three women, who were engaged in maintenance work on the Vandalur-Minjur Outer Ring Road near Kunrathur in Chennai, died after a speeding lorry ran them over on Tuesday.
The deceased were identified as Pachaiammal (40), Senjilakshmi (60), and Suganthi (40), all of them from Vayalanallur near Poonamallee. The trio were contract employees of a firm that is in charge of maintaining the road.
On Tuesday, the women were planting saplings in the median and had a mini goods van, bearing saplings, parked nearby for convenience.
A speeding lorry heading towards Tambaram from Poonamallee ran over the three women and rammed into the min-van, Poonamallee traffic investigation police said, adding that the driver was drunk.
While Pachaiammal and Senjilakshmi died on the spot, Suganthi was rushed to a nearby hospital but died on the way. Their bodies were sent to Kilpauk Medical College Hospital for postmortem examination.
Police said the driver was arrested and the remand process is on.