Twelve persons, including a police inspector, were injured in a massive pileup on the Chennai-Tiruchy National Highway on Monday morning as thick fog engulfed the area.
Police said 10 vehicles were involved in crashes on the highway bringing traffic on the road to a standstill for about two hours.
Police source said Rameshraj, inspector attached to Ramanatham police station in Cuddalore district, was on his way to Chennai in a car to appear in the Madras High Court in connection with a case in the early hours of Monday. Since the highway was covered with thick fog in the morning, the car hit the a roadside block on the Vazhudareddy by-pass road junction near Villupuram.
The poor visibility led to a chain of crashes, with a lorry hitting the rear of the car.
Five more vehicles, including a trailer, a passenger van and a courier service van, rammed each other in quick succession. The police inspector and 12 others were injured in the accident.
Officials from Villupuram town and taluk police stations rushed to the spot and rescued the injured persons with the help of locals.
They were sent them to Mundiayampakkam Medical College Hospital for treatment.
Police officials cleared the vehicles from the spot using cranes and poclains.
Police heaved a sigh of relief as the early morning pileup left none dead.
During inquiry, police found that the thick fog was the reason for the accident. Visibility was up to only a few feet. Drivers could not see the road in front and rammed their vehicles into one another.