CHENNAI: Two women died and two others sustained serious injuries after a private college van disregarded the signal and mowed down a group of pedestrians on the Old Mahabalipuram on Friday.

The incident happened on Friday morning when the pedestrians were crossing OMR near Karapakkam. A private medical college van coming towards Chennai from Kelambakkam did not stop at the signal and rammed into the four pedestrians.

In the impact, all four of them suffered severe injuries, and Radha (38) of Karapakkam who suffered head injuries died on the spot. Later in the evening, Parvathi (36) of Karapakkam succumbed without responding to treatments. Police said Subath Bangra (30) of Bihar and Sathyan (35) of Karapakkam are still undergoing treatment.

The onlookers who helped the injured pedestrians also caught the van driver and trashed him. They also staged a protest blocking the busy thoroughfare. Soon, the Pallikaranai traffic investigation wing officials came to the spot and pacified the protestors. They also arrested the van driver, Theriya Nathan (30) of Tiruvallur. The police have registered a case and further investigation is on.