CHENNAI: Two people died, including a schoolgirl, in separate road accidents in the southern suburbs of Chennai on Friday evening.
In the first incident, Kausika (21) of Padappai, a student at a private college near Kattankulathur, was returning home on her bike from college on Friday evening. While travelling near Mannivakkam on the Vandalur-Walajabad Road, a tipper lorry approaching from behind sounded its horn loudly. Startled by the sudden noise, Kausika lost balance, and her vehicle collided with a scooter that was coming in the wrong direction.
The impact left Kausika with severe facial injuries, including serious damage to one eye. The elderly man riding the scooter was also injured. Both were rushed to a private hospital in the locality, where doctors declared Kausika dead on arrival.
In another accident, 11-year-old Kaviya, a Class 6 student of a government school in Mannivakkam, was returning home with her grandfather Dhan Singh on a bike along the Tambaram-Mudichur Road. Police said a government bus travelling at high speed rammed into their vehicle from behind. Both Kaviya and her grandfather were thrown onto the road, leaving them seriously injured. Onlookers rescued the duo and shifted them to a nearby private hospital. However, doctors declared Kaviya dead. Dhan Singh was later referred to the Tambaram GH for further treatment.
The Guduvanchery Traffic Investigation Wing has registered separate cases and launched investigations into both accidents. The bodies of the two students were sent to the Tambaram Government Hospital for post-mortem examinations.
The back-to-back fatalities on neighbouring roads sparked anger among residents and relatives of the victims, who gathered at the hospital on Friday night. They alleged that frequent accidents in the region are caused by roadside encroachments, narrow roads, illegal roadside shops, and motorists driving on the wrong side.
Residents urged authorities to widen roads, remove encroachments, and strictly enforce traffic regulations to prevent further loss of lives. Police later arrived at the spot and assured the public that appropriate action would be taken against traffic violations and encroachments.