MADURAI
Three women and a seven-month-old child, all belonging to the same family, were killed when a car rammed them while they were trying to cross the Madurai- Dindigul four-lane highway near Vadugapatti here on Saturday.
According to the police, the deceased M. Maarathi (65), her daughter P. Lakshmi (40), granddaughter J. Vasanthi (22), and Vasanthi’s child J. Ashvik, residing on Muthalamman Koil Street in Vadugapatti, had come to the highway to board a bus to Madurai.
As they attempted to cross the highway, a car going towards Coimbatore lost control and hit them, killing Maarathi and Lakshmi on the spot. Vasanthi and her child were taken in an ambulance to Vadipatti Government Hospital, where the doctors declared them brought dead.
N. Murugan (51), a resident of Sulur near Coimbatore, was driving the car. He was returning from Kulasekarapattinam in Thoothukudi district with his family after attending the Dasara festival, police said. The car sustained damage as it went off the road in the collision before coming to a halt.
Murugan reportedly informed the police that one of the women attempted to cross the road without noticing the car, because of which he lost control, an official said. However, the police were also investigating whether bursting of a tyre in the car resulted in the accident.
The Vadipatti police have registered a case against Murugan.