CHENNAI: A 24-year-old woman was run over by a lorry on Friday, as the two-wheeler on which she was riding pillion with her brother in Anna Nagar lost balance and fell over, after running over a pothole covered with rain water.
Police said that the pothole was not visible due to water-logging in the heavy rain that pounded the city since Friday evening.
The victim was identified as Hemamalini (24), a post-graduate and resident of ICF colony. Her brother Venkatesan (27) was riding the bike.
In the impact, Venkatesan and the bike fell to the left of the road, while Hemamalini fell to the right side. Though she was wearing a helmet, a lorry trailing them ran over her stomach, crushing her to death on the spot, police said. The lorry driver fled the spot after the incident and police are on the lookout for him.
They were returning from a wedding and driving on the Padi-Koyambedu 100 feet road in the rain. An inconsolable Venkatesan told media persons that they were on their way to check on their mother who works in an eatery in the locality and that he was not even aware of a pothole, as it was covered with water.
Hemamalini was rushed to the Kilpauk medical college and hospital where she was declared dead on arrival. The local traffic investigation wing have booked a case and are investigating.
While preliminary inquiries indicated that the road was maintained by the highways department, the city corporation has coordinated with all other departments regarding levelling of potholes ahead of the monsoon, sources said. Specific directions have been issued for closing top slabs, open manholes and potholes to prevent accidents during the monsoon.