CHENNAI: A 55-year-old man and his 2-year-old grandson were killed in a freak road accident near Padappai after the side wall of a lorry travelling in the opposite direction allegedly came off and crashed onto an autorickshaw. Three others, including the auto driver, sustained serious injuries in the incident.
The deceased have been identified as Kanniyappan (55), a resident of Manimangalam near Padappai, and his grandson, Melvin. On Tuesday night, Kanniyappan was travelling in an autorickshaw along with his son, daughter-in-law and grandson from their house in Manimangalam to a relative's house in Mudichur. While the auto rickshaw was proceeding on the Manimangalam main road, a mini-lorry loaded with bricks approached from the opposite direction at high speed.
Unexpectedly, the 15-foot-long side wall of the mini-lorry reportedly detached and fell directly onto the autorickshaw, crushing it. On impact, Kanniyappan and his grandson, Melvin, sustained grievous injuries and died on the spot. The auto driver, Loganathan (35), along with Kanniyappan's son and daughter-in-law, suffered severe injuries.
On information, the Guduvanchery traffic Investigation police rushed to the spot and rescued the injured persons, who were admitted to the Tambaram Government Hospital for treatment. The bodies of the deceased were also sent to the same hospital for post-mortem examination.
Police said the mini-lorry driver abandoned the vehicle at the scene and fled. Preliminary inquiries revealed that negligence on the part of the lorry driver led to the accident. The side door of the mini-lorry is required to be secured with iron clamps at four points and properly checked before the vehicle is operated. It is suspected that the driver failed to fasten the clamps correctly, and due to vibrations caused by overspeeding, the door came loose and fell, resulting in the tragic accident.
The police have registered a case, and a search is on to nab the lorry driver.