CHENNAI: A 23-year-old man died while his friend is battling for life after they got flung into a trench dug up by Tantransco (Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation) on the service road along Chennai-Bengaluru highway near Poonamallee on Thursday night.
An officer with Avadi TIW (Traffic Investigation Wing) said the duo was riding on the wrong side of traffic along the service road. “There were barricades, but not enough lighting along the stretch. And since it rained last evening, we suspect the rider to have missed the warning signs put up and rushed past the barricade,” the officer said.
There were not enough warning signs to warn motorists from avoiding using the service road, according to various reports.
The bikers fell directly onto the protruding construction bars in the trench, making death instantaneous for one of them. The deceased was identified as Rama Guna, employed as a contract worker with a heavy engineering firm. He was riding the bike while his friend, Madhivanan (24) was riding the pillion. Preliminary investigations revealed that Rama Guna was on his way to the night shift while his friend was supposed to return with the bike.
Passersby alerted the authorities after which personnel from Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services (TNFRS) and police reached the scene. Guna’s body was moved to a hospital for post-mortem while Madhivanan is admitted to a private hospital where he is undergoing treatment.
A police officer said they were staying at a rented room in Poonamallee and had attended a friend’s birthday party, a few hours before the accident. Guna is a native of Padappaikadu in Thanjavur. “The pillion rider was under the influence of alcohol, according to his friends,” he said.