COIMBATORE: One person was injured when a driver allegedly fell asleep at the wheel and crashed his concrete mixer truck into a toll plaza near Palathurai in the wee hours of Tuesday. The injured person was identified as Premkumar (36), a staff in the toll plaza.
According to police, the truck was on its way to Kochi from Andhra Pradesh. Around 4:30 am on Tuesday, the driver, K Biju (48) of Kochi allegedly dozed off when he was near Palathurai and lost control of the truck. The truck crashed into the rear end of a goods vehicle that was standing in a queue and then rammed into the toll plaza at a high speed.
In the accident, the toll plaza staff, Premkumar (36) of Madukkarai sustained severe head injuries. He was rushed to the nearby hospital by locals. A case has been registered against the truck driver. "The truck driver could have fallen asleep as he was driving throughout the night. The investigation is underway," police said.