Chennai: Woman killed in hit-and-run near CoP office

CHENNAI: A 46-year-old woman, who was returning home on her two-wheeler after dropping her child at school, was killed in a hit-and-run incident near the Chennai city police Commissioner’s office on Wednesday morning. Officials said she was wearing a helmet, but as it was not strapped properly, it came off after the van hit her.

The deceased woman was identified as D Sridevi, a resident of Pudupet, who was riding her two-wheeler on EVR Periyar Salai (Poonamallee High Road) around 9 am when the incident happened.

While speaking to the media, the family members of the woman alleged that she was intercepted by traffic personnel bringing her scooter to an abrupt stop before the load van hit her. However, CCTV footage showed that there were no traffic cops involved; the van brushed against the scooter while attempting to overtake her.

The van driver sped away from the spot instead of helping her.

Anna Square Traffic Investigation Wing (TIW) personnel recovered her body and sent it to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) for postmortem examination. Now, a search is under way to identify the load van driver involved in the hit-and-run accident.

"Though she was wearing a helmet, she had not strapped it properly and the helmet came off immediately after the load van hit her," a police officer said.

In another accident on Pallavaram-Thoraipakkam Radial Road near Thoraipakkam, a 45-year-old man died after his bike was knocked down by a speeding tipper lorry. The deceased was identified as Jaffar Sadiq (45). A native of Karur district, Jaffar was living with his wife and three children in Thoraipakkam and was working at a private firm.

Police said that the motorist died on the spot. Guindy TIW personnel moved Jaffar's body to a government hospital for autopsy, and arrested the lorry driver, Omkar (30), from Uttar Pradesh.