Five artistes killed as lorry ploughs into pedestrians

Five ‘dappu’ artistes were killed, two of them on the spot, and two others were critically injured when a cement-laden lorry from Kadapa to Chittoor ploughed into a group of pedestrians, after hitting an SUV, at Thana Vaddepalle village on the outskirts of Piler town on Kadapa Road on Thursday.

According to the police, a group of about 25 artistes (who beat drums during mass festive occasions) of Kondasanivari Palle village of Nimmanapalle mandal were returning to Piler to board a bus to their native place, after performing at a local jatara on Wednesday night.

Around 5 a.m., a lorry towards Chittoor rammed an SUV and ploughed into the pedestrians, after its driver lost control over the vehicle. The incident left two artisans dead on the spot, and three others died on the way to SVRR Hospital at Tirupati.

The driver of SUV, in a confused state after being hit by the lorry, jumped the road and rammed a godown. Though there were eight passengers in the SUV, none of them was hurt.

The deceased were identified as Narayana (43), Jayaram (44), Gurappa (73), Venkata Ramana (45) and Lakshman (68). The injured, Nagaraju and Nagesh, were admitted to the SVRR Hospital in Tirupati with multiple fractures and are said to be out of danger.

The lorry driver, who reportedly tried to escape from the spot, was apprehended by the public and handed over to the police. A case has been registered. Senior revenue and police officials of Madanapalle division visited the spot, and consoled the bereaved family members.