One dead as Chennai college student’s car rams autorickshaw

CHENNAI: An autorickshaw driver was killed and five others were injured when a speeding Chevrolet Cruze, driven by a drunk college student, who, along with four friends, was heading towards the Marina Beach, rammed at least six autorickshaws on Cathedral Road near Stella Maris College in the early hours on Sunday.

This was the same spot where a Porsche driven by racer Vikash Anand rammed into an autorickshaw, killing the driver a year ago.

Police said auto driver Rajesh (33), who was sleeping in his vehicle parked on the roadside, was killed on the spot. A few other auto drivers, Babu (42), Mohan (41), Perumal (38), Balan (40) and Pandavan (38), all from Arakkonam, who were also sleeping in their autos, suffered minor injuries and were treated at the Royapettah government hospital.

It was a routine of the auto drivers to have dinner around 12.30 am and come to Cathedral Road and sleep in their vehicles.

On Sunday, Rajesh called his wife around 12.30 am, after which he decided to go to Cathedral Road to sleep. Purasawalkam was where he would normally retire for the night, but due to the mosquitoes, he decided to sleep elsewhere on Sunday. He parked his vehicle behind five other autos and nodded off, when around 1.20 am, the speeding car rammed into his auto from behind, killing him on the spot.