MADURAI/VIRUDHUNAGAR/SIVAGANGA: Eight persons died in four road accidents on Sunday. In the first incident, seven loudspeaker operators were travelling in an Omni van from Pudumanapatti village, when the driver lost control of the vehicle and rammed it into a roadside electric post on Tiruchy-Rameswaram Highway near Karaikudi. Driver S Jayabalan (47) and loudspeaker operators S Manikandan (42) and Aravind (23) died on the spot, and four others sustained injuries. Kundrakudi police have registered a case.
In the next incident, an autorickshaw driver lost control of the vehicle and it fell into a roadside pit near Potulupatti on Madurai-Theni National Highway. Passengers 11-year-old Lokesh from Sakkaliankulam, and Jayaraj from Vandalur died on the spot. Usilampatti Taluk Police rushed to the spot and sent the bodies to Usilampatti Government Hospital for autopsy. Preliminary investigation revealed that Karthik, the auto driver, was attending a phone call when the accident occurred.
At Yanaikulai Street in Virudhunagar, painting employees S Sivakumar (50) and J Prabhakaran (27) from the locality sustained grievous injuries when their two-wheeler rammed the Virudhunagar-Arupukottai flyover wall in the evening hours of Saturday. Prabhakaran died at Government Rajaji Hospital during the night, while Sivakumar succumbed to his injuries at Virudhunagar Government Hospital in the wee hours of Sunday. Sources said Prabhakaran was riding the vehicle in a reckless manner when the accident happened.
In Vadipatti of Madurai district, Chinnathai (60) died on the spot on Sunday when a car rammed the share auto in which she was travelling. The car driver fled from the spot and police personnel later found a few hundred kgs of banned gutka products in the car. Further probe is on.