Birthday boy, 3 others die as car hits truck on Hassan highway

Mandya: A birthday boy and three of his friends who were on a predawn drive after midnight celebrations died after their car hit a lorry on Bengaluru-Hassan highway on Sunday. The deceased have been identified as Sharath, who celebrated his 22nd birthday; Hemanth Kumar, 24; Yogesh, 23, and Dheeraj Kumar, 22. They were all residents of Bengaluru.
Cops said the accident occurred around 4.45am at Thirumalapura Gate when Chevrolet Spark rear-ended the lorry and fell into a ditch. All four occupants of the car died on the spot. The lorry driver fled the spot. Sources said the quartet initially wanted to go to Chikkaballapur, near Bengaluru, on two or three bikes, but later changed their plan and hit the Mangaluru highway in a car. A police officer said that it was not clear whether they were headed towards Dharmasthala. While Hemanth ran a sump-cleaning agency in Bengaluru, Dheeraj worked as a mechanical engineer in a hardware company; Sharath and Yogesh worked in a private company. tnn