VIJAYAWADA: Twelve people, including two children, were killed and 12 others injured when a speeding truck rammed a tractor near Vedadri village of Jaggaiahpet mandal on Wednesday. The victims, who were in the tractor, were returning home to Telangana after praying at a temple in Krishna district. As many as 26 people were in the tractor.
When they crossed the outskirts of Vedadri around 2 pm, a truck approaching from the opposite direction rammed their vehicle, crushed and dragged it. “Seven people died on the spot and five succumbed in hospital. The truck driver was speeding and the accident happened in a blind spot, as per our preliminary investigation,” Nandigama DSP GV Ramana Murthy said, adding that the truck driver was reportedly inebriated. The truck driver too was hospitalised.
The victims hail from Madira in Khammam district, and had visited the Sri Yogananda Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple. The deceased were identified as Vemireddy Padmavathi, Guduru Upender Reddy, Vemireddy Uday, Guduru Surya Narayana Reddy, Lakkireddy Appamma, Lakkireddy Akkamma, Raaji, Guduru Ramanamma, Vemireddy Bharathamma, Lakkireddy Tirupathamma, Seelam Srilakshmi and V Pulla Reddy.