Tamil Nad

Six killed as SUV ploughs through roadside crowd

Crushed to the core: The mangled remains of an autorickshaw which was involved in the fatal accident at Sundarapuram in Coimbatore on Wednesday.

Crushed to the core: The mangled remains of an autorickshaw which was involved in the fatal accident at Sundarapuram in Coimbatore on Wednesday.   | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

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Driver suspected to have dozed off; gets beaten up by the public

Six persons were killed on the spot and three injured when a luxury sports utility vehicle (SUV) crashed into people standing on the side of the Pollachi-Coimbatore Road at Sundarapuram early on Wednesday.

The SUV, which belongs to the chairman of a Coimbatore-based educational group and was driven by his driver, rammed nine persons including a roadside flower vendor, a stationary autorickshaw and an electric pole before coming to a halt.

The deceased have been identified as N. Subashini, 19, C. Amsaveni, 32, A. Srirangadas, 69, N. Kuppathal, 74, V. Narayanan, 70, and P. Rukmini, 65, all from the Sundarapuram area.

Suresh, 40, Somasundaram, 65, and Nataraj, 65, were injured.

The accident took place at 10.15 a.m. when P. Jagadeesh Kumar, 34, driver of the car, was going to pick up his employer, the police said.

A CCTV grab from a nearby shop showed the SUV ramming two persons standing on the side of the road at high speed. The vehicle then hit the stationary autorickshaw, fully crushing it.

Subashini, one of the deceased, was a second-year B.Sc student. She was waiting for the bus to her college when she was hit. The police said that Srirangadas and Kuppathal, who had returned from a ration shop, were also waiting for the bus.

All the deceased were taken to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) while the injured sought treatment at private hospitals.

The driver did not sustain any injuries as the airbags were deployed.

He is undergoing treatment at CMCH. The police suspect that the driver could have lost control of the vehicle after dozing off at the wheel.

Thomas Florence, who was at the accident spot, said that the SUV was being driven in high speed. Noor Muhammed from Saibaba Colony, who was waiting for a bus, said he was yet to recover from the shock of the accident.

Sujit Kumar, Deputy Commissiner of Police (Traffic), said that a case has been registered against the driver under Sections 279 (Rash driving or riding on a public way), 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 338 (Causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 304 (II) (Culpable homicide not amounting to murder).

The Traffic Investigation Wing (West) is investigating the accident.