CHENNAI: Six people, including a 15-year-old boy, were killed and two others injured in two separate road accidents in Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu districts between Thursday night and Friday morning.
In the first incident, three employees of a private firm were killed and two others injured after the car they were travelling in crossed the median and collided head-on with an Eicher lorry near Keelambi in Kancheepuram district on Friday morning.
Police said five persons, including the driver, were travelling in the car. Kalaiselvi K (39), Selvaganapathi M (28), C Jayavel Nagraj (28) and Kamaraj N (30), employees of Hosur-based Assess India Private Limited, were travelling from Hosur to Chennai to attend a corporate meeting. The car was driven by M Manohar (39).
According to police, Manohar allegedly dozed off while driving on the Chennai-Bengaluru National Highway near Keelambi, causing the vehicle to mount the central median and veer onto the opposite carriageway. The car then crashed head-on into an Eicher lorry travelling from Chennai towards Vellore.
Kalaiselvi and Selvaganapathi died on the spot, while Manohar succumbed to his injuries at Saveetha Hospital. Jayavel Nagraj and Kamaraj, who sustained injuries, were admitted to the Kancheepuram Government Hospital.
In the second incident, three persons, including a 15-year-old boy, were killed after a lorry allegedly rammed into their car from behind near Janakipuram on the Trichy-Chennai National Highway in Chengalpattu district around 10 pm on Thursday.
The deceased were identified as Gopu V (46) of Shanmugapuram in Puducherry, his son L Dhanesh (15), and P Ilanchezhiyan (54), who was driving the car. Police said they were travelling to Chennai airport to receive a relative arriving from abroad.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the lorry allegedly hit the car while attempting to overtake it. The impact caused the car to crash into the median and overturn. The lorry driver fled the scene.
Gopu and Dhanesh died on the spot, while Ilanchezhiyan succumbed to his injuries while being taken to the Chengalpattu Government Hospital in a 108 ambulance.
The bodies were sent to the Chengalpattu Government Hospital for post-mortem. Police have launched a search for the absconding lorry driver and are analysing CCTV footage from the highway stretch to identify the vehicle. Traffic on the Trichy-Chennai National Highway was disrupted for some time following the accident.
In both incidents, police have registered separate cases under Sections 281 (rash driving) and 106 (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and further investigation is under way.
