CHENNAI: S Yogeswaran, a 20-year-old student of a private engineering college, died by suicide just minutes after his college mate, E Sabrina (21) of Maduranthakam, riding pillion on his bike was killed in a road accident near Mamallapuram on Saturday afternoon.
According to police, the friends were on their way to Mamallapuram on Yogeswaran’s motorcycle when a Puducherry Road Transport Corporation bus rammed the vehicle from behind near Pooncheri Junction.
Sabrina, who was thrown off the bike in the impact of the collision fell on the road, suffered injuries to her head, and bled profusely. She was not wearing a helmet, police said. Sabrina was rushed to a nearby hospital where she died.
Overcome by grief, Yogeswaran ran out of the hospital and allegedly jumped in front of another PRTC bus which was on its way to Puducherry. He died on the spot. The Chengalpattu district police registered two separate cases and arrested the drivers of the two buses — Paramasivan and Arumugam.
Four killed
Four more people, including a three-year-old boy, were killed in three separate road accidents in Chennai and its neighbouring districts late on Friday and Saturday.
On Friday evening, Gagan Sai (3) was run over by an autorickshaw in front of his mother on a busy road in Thiruvalangadu in Tiruvallur district. The police said the boy, recognising his relative on the opposite side, attempted to cross the road. When the incident happened, his mother was speaking over the phone after the two had alighted from a bus. The Kangamma Chathiram police registered a case and arrested the autorickshaw driver.
On Saturday near Gummidipoondi, two employees of a Royapettah audit firm died when a lorry hit their two-wheeler. The police said the deceased -- Santhosh (23) and Annie (21) -- were on their way to the Tada waterfalls with their friends who were riding four other bikes. While Annie was declared dead on arrival, Santhosh died later. Police are on the lookout for the lorry driver.
In another incident near Manali on Saturday, a traffic policeman riding his motorbike died after a collision with a crane truck parked on the road. The victim, Lakshmanan (36) from Tondiarpet, was a head constable with the Ennore Traffic Enforcement Wing. He was on his way for a parade. Police cited potholes on the road as the reason for the accident. However, they also noted that Lakshmanan was not wearing a helmet.