Two motorcycle-borne youngsters died in a road accident near Varapuzha on the New Year’s eve around 10.45 p.m.
The deceased were identified as Ashin, 23, and Ajay, 23, of Koonammavu. They were proceeding in the direction of Koonammavu from Varapuzha when their motorcycle was suspected to have been knocked down by a lorry going in the same direction, following which they were thrown under the wheels. Both died instantly.
“The exact nature of the accident is not clear, since there were no eyewitnesses. The place where the accident took place is a potential accident hotspot, with the otherwise wide road narrowing down to a bottleneck. Making matters worse, there is disparity in levels and steep edge separating the surfaced portion of the road and its side making motorists, especially two-wheeler riders, highly vulnerable,” the police said.
The police registered a case invoking IPC Section 304A (causing death by negligence). The lorry driver was arrested and released on bail.
Enforcement officials of the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) also visited the site and conducted a special drive in the area.
“Many motorists were found engaged in rash and negligent driving. We asked them to offer flowers before the flex boards of the deceased youngsters to make them aware of the seriousness of their offence,” said Shaji Madhavan, Enforcement Regional Transport Officer (Ernakulam).
He added that over eight squads had been deployed on the New Year’s eve to avoid accidents. “While we were able to check the number of accidents, we could not yet avoid the tragedy that claimed two lives,” he said.
