One killed, nine injured as goods carrier overturns near Erode

ERODE: A 56-year-old man was killed and nine others were injured after a goods carrier overturned near Bhavanisagar in the district on Sunday night, when the driver attempted to prevent the vehicle from running over a man, who was lying on road in an inebriated condition.
The Bhavanisagar police identified the deceased as M Michael, 56, of PG Palayam near Kollegal in Karnataka. A police officer said Michael was among the 10 people from PG Palayam who travelled to Mettupalayam in Coimbatore in a goods carrier to sell garlic in the market.
He said the incident occurred when they were returning to PG Palayam at night.
“When the vehicle neared Kodampalayam near Bhavanisagar, driver M Punith Kumar, 27, of PG Palayam, noticed a drunk man lying on the road. To avoid the vehicle from running over him, he swerved the vehicle. Kumar, however, lost control over the vehicle, which overturned. Michael, who was seated next to the driver, succumbed to his injuries on the spot. The remaining nine escaped with injuries.”
When alerted by other motorists on the stretch, the Bhavanisagar police rushed the injured to the govt hospital at Sathyamangalam. Michael’s body was also sent to the same hospital for a postmortem.
The Bhavanisagar police have registered a case and further investigation is on.