LUDHIANA: A speeding truck ran over a hawker at National Highway 1, near Basti Jodhewal chowk, on Thursday night.
Jeevan Singh, 60, a resident of New Baldev Nagar, was wheeling his pushcart home when the truck going towards Jalandhar Bypass chowk from
Samrala chowk hit him around 10pm. “The driver accelerated to escape. But he soon lost control of the vehicle, which hit a road divider and turned turtle,” said an eyewitness. Even as the driver fled, the overturned truck in the centre of the road brought traffic to a halt.
Singh’s son, Mohinder Pal, said, “My father went door-to-door to sell clothes. He was on way home when the accident claimed his life. Even as the passersby immediately called up the police, the cops reached the spot late. After waiting for 20 minutes, people took my father to hospital, where he was declared dead.” The Jodhewal police station is a few metres from the spot.
The police later removed the truck from the road to regulate traffic flow.
A case under sections 279 (rash driving) and 304-A (causing death by negligence) of the IPC has been registered against the truck driver.
Representative image