VILLUPURAM: Three members of a family travelling on a two-wheeler were killed, and five in a car were injured, on the East Coast Road near Kottakuppam, after a State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) bus allegedly rammed into their vehicle on Sunday morning.
The deceased were identified as S Silambarasan (29) of Alapakkam; his brothers-in-law, S Stalin (38) of Cuddalore Old Town and K Karthikeyan (33) of Neyveli. On Saturday morning, his brothers-in-law were taking Silambarasan to Abishegapakkam in Puducherry for re-dressing a fracture.
“When they were close to the PEW check-post at Periyamudaliyarchavadi, the bus hit the motorcycle, and then rammed into a car ahead of it,” said an officer. The impact caused the car to veer off the road and enter a vacant plot on its left.
The three men, who died on the spot, and the motorcycle got trapped beneath the front portion of the bus, which dragged them for nearly half a kilometre. DSP Ruban Kumar said to TNIE, “Due to mechanical failure, the driver could not stop the bus after the accident. It stopped only after slowing down.”
Five IT employees from Hyderabad, who were travelling in the car that was rammed into, escaped with injuries. One of them, V Sampath Bogini (25) of Telangana, suffered head injuries and was admitted to the Government Hospital in Puducherry for treatment.
Upon receiving information, Kottakuppam police personnel rushed to the spot and sent the bodies to a private medical college hospital at Ganapathychettikulam for post-mortem examination. An earthmover was brought to remove the scooter. Deputy Superintendent of Police MS Ruban Kumar inspected the spot. Traffic on the ECR between Chennai and the UT was disrupted for two hours.
After the driver, P Murugeswaran (30), stopped the bus on the road, he allegedly fled but later surrendered to the Orleanpet police in Puducherry.