CHENNAI: Three students of a private university in Pallavaram died, and four others were injured after their car overturned due to a tyre burst and crashed into the road median on the Chennai-Tiruchy highway on Friday night. Police said the students were returning to Chennai from Puducherry after a trip when the accident occurred.
According to police, the seven students left for Puducherry in an SUV on Thursday with Harikrishnan (19) driving. Around 8.45 pm on Friday during their return journey, they reached Hotel Highway Inn near Maduranthakam when one of the car’s rear tyres allegedly went flat. Harikrishnan lost control of the vehicle, causing it to swerve across the road and overturn before hitting the central median.
The impact of the crash killed two students — Deepakraj (19) of Vadalur in Cuddalore district and Beautrin Stalinijo (22) of Kanniyakumari — due to fatal head injuries. Raj Prasad (19) of Karur was rushed to the hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. Deepakraj was a third-year arts student, Stalinijo was a final-year law student, and Prasad was a third-year BCom CA student. The four injured students were identified as Logeswaran (18) of Karur, Ram Prasad (19) of Pasupathipalaiyam in Karur, Anishwaran (18) of Cuddalore, and Harikrishnan of Chennai.
All injured students stable; police examining circumstances of crash
One was shifted to a nearby private hospital while the others are at Chengaplattu Government Hospital. All injured students are in stable condition, hospital sources said. Maduranthakam police have registered a case under Sections 281 (rash or negligent driving), 125(a) (endangering life and personal safety of others) and 106 (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
The crash caused traffic congestion on the highway for some time as police and emergency personnel shifted the injured and removed the vehicle from the road. The bodies of the three deceased have been sent for postmortem examination. Police are examining the circumstances of the crash.
