TIRUCHY: Three men sleeping on a pedestrian platform on Amma Mandapam Road in Tiruchy were run over by a speeding car and killed on Saturday night. The driver of the multi-utility vehicle, with Chennai registration, 23-year-old K Lakshmi Narayanan of Tiruchy was arrested and remanded Sunday.
Police are trying to identify the deceased, believed to be aged over 60 years. The accident occurred around 10 pm near a wedding hall at Geethapuram on Amma Mandapam Road, which leads to the Srirangam temple. Hundreds of homeless people sleep on this road as it is near halls and temples that provide them with food.
A police officer said the car was moving at a speed of 80-100 kmph when it jumped onto the pavement and ran over the three men. One of them died on the spot while locals and police from the nearby Srirangam police station rushed the others to the Tiruchy Mahatma Gandhi Government Memorial Hospital. However, both died while being treated.
‘We suspect they were under the influence of alcohol’
“The accused said he was teaching his friend to drive the car, but we suspect they were under the influence of alcohol, which will be confirmed once we get medical examination reports,” a police officer said. Another explanation for the accident might be a burst tyre, police added.
The driver was booked under Sections 279 (driving or riding on a public way so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life), 304 (A) (causing death by negligence) and 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life) of the IPC.