KURNOOL: For lorry driver Farooq, accidents — big and small — on national highways is a common sight. But, the one on flyover at Madar Puram village in Veldurthi mandal had left him shell-shocked.
“The mini bus hit my lorry at a high speed and I was shocked to see such a sight. I applied brakes immediately and brought the lorry to a halt,’’ Farooq said. One could have seen such a crash only in movies, he added.
Farooq, a resident of Kurnool, was on his way to Tadipatri in Anantapur district with a gravel load from Warangal in neighbouring Telangana State.
“I came out of initial shock and when I went to see what happened, the scene was devastating as the bodies were lying scattered all over the place,’’ he said. Farooq immediately ran to Madar Puram village, but with the locals in deep slumber, he went around a few houses seeking help. Farooq also alerted the police.
Later, he, along with the locals, came back running to the accident spot and started to bring the injured and the deceased out of the mangled remains of the vehicle. Police too reached the spot within no time and they too joined the rescue operations.
“Had the mini bus not hit my vehicle, it might have crashed into the railing of the flyover and fallen down from 40 feet height causing more devastation,’’ he said.