SURYAPET: Six persons, including five passengers of an APSRTC bus, were killed and 13 injured after the bus rammed a stationary lorry in Moddhula Cheruvu, Munagala mandal of Suryapet on National Highway 69 in the wee hours of Sunday.
The bus had started from Avanigadda in Andhra Pradesh late Saturday night and was on its way to Hyderabad when it rammed into the lorry from at Munagala mandal. Police said the cement-laden lorry had stopped on the roadside as one of the front tyres was deflated. The lorry driver, V Yedukondalu (48) of Huzurnagar, had lifted the vehicle with a jack to change the tyre. Police said he had not taken any precautions, such as leaving the vehicle’s lights on, before parking the lorry. As a result, the bus driver, driving at a speed of 70kmph, did not notice the lorry. “In the last minute, the bus driver Haribabu noticed the vehicle and tried to avoid hitting it,’’ police said.
Four passengers died instantly while one died on the way to a hospital. The deceased were identified as T Rani (37) of Mallapuram village, Khammam district, V Sathaiah (57) of Suryapet, M Varaprasad (63) of Hyderabad, B Kutumbha Rao (60) and M Muralikrishna, from Avanigadda. The impact of the collision knocked over the jack and the lorry fell on Yedukondalu. “His legs were trapped beneath the vehicle for nearly three hours. Cranes were brought and the vehicle was lifted and he was shifted to a hospital where he was declared dead,’’ police said. The 13 injured passengers were shifted to hospitals. Munagala police registered a case.