BHUBANESWAR: Six persons including three women were crushed to death by a speeding truck at the busy Sarankul market in Nayagarh district on Tuesday.
The mishap took place when the truck driver lost control over the vehicle and hit a motorcycle, killing two persons on the spot.
In a bid to escape, the driver ran over four pedestrians. Apart from three women, two minors and an elderly man were killed in the accident.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the truck driver was speeding and lost control over the vehicle. While attempting to flee, he ran over four others,” said Nayagarh SP Pratyush Diwakar.
Sarankul IIC BN Mallick said the truck was proceeding from Nayagarh towards Sarankul. It first rammed into a motorcycle at Narendrapur, killing both the riders on the spot. The truck then ran over some pedestrians, mostly labourers. Three of them were killed on the spot while another person, who sustained grievous injuries, succumbed during treatment in hospital.
The truck driver managed to escape after deserting the vehicle, which has been seized by police. Investigation is underway and efforts are on to nab the driver, police said.Following the incident, irate locals staged protest by blocking the State highway between Nayagarh and Bhanjanagar demanding adequate compensation to the families of the deceased and effective road safety measures in the area.
Every bereaved family should be provided with at least Rs 20 lakh and the administration must put in place an effective mechanism to check over-speeding by vehicles and reckless driving, said a protester.Senior officials of Sarankul and Nayagarh police stations as well as the district administration rushed to the spot in order to defuse the situation.“Talks are on with the protesters to resolve the issue amicably and ensure restoration of normal traffic on the road at the earliest,” said an official.