PERAMBALUR: Five people, including four devotees, were killed and three others injured in two separate road accidents near Siruvachur and Mangalamedu in Perambalur district on Saturday.
The deceased were identified as S Malarkodi (35), B Vijayalakshmi and T Sasikala (47) from Tholar Kudikadu village in Cuddalore district, M Chitra (40) from Gangavalli in Salem district, and S Navshad Ali (22) from V Kalathur in Perambalur district.
The injured were identified as P Jothilakshmi (57), M Tamilarasi (42), and S Vijayalakshmi (43), all from Tholar Kudikadu.
According to police sources, in the early hours of Saturday, more than 10 devotees from Cuddalore and Salem districts were walking towards the Samayapuram temple.
As they were nearing the Siruvachur bridge, a car travelling from Chennai to Tiruchy allegedly rammed into them from behind.
Malarkodi, Vijayalakshmi, and Chitra died on the spot, while Jothilakshmi, Tamilarasi, and Vijayalakshmi sustained severe injuries.
On receiving information, Perambalur police rushed to the spot, rescued the injured, and admitted them to the Perambalur Government Hospital for treatment. Sasikala later succumbed to her injuries.
The bodies of the deceased were sent to the same hospital for post mortem examination.
Following the incident, police registered a case and arrested the car driver, S Gowtham (24) of Tirusulam in Chennai. Further investigation is under way.
Speaking to TNIE, a devotee present at the spot said, "We were walking carefully towards the temple in the early morning. When suddenly the car came out of nowhere and hit us. Everything happened so fast, it felt unreal, like Cinema."
In a separate incident on Friday night, Navshad Ali was returning home on his two wheeler from the Thirumandurai toll plaza.
While approaching Thirumandurai on the Chennai Tiruchy National Highway, he allegedly collided with a lorry carrying wood that was travelling ahead of him. Navshad Ali sustained severe injuries and died on the spot.
On information, Mangalamedu police rushed to the scene, recovered the body, and sent it to the Perambalur Government Hospital for post mortem examination. Police have registered a case and are investigating, along with the lorry driver, C Uthira Nathan (40) of Thirukovilur.