Fun trip turns tragic, three of 9 friends killed in mishap

The nine persons were identified as S Javith (25), A Fizal (24) and Riyas (20), Aarif (21), Yakub (25), Mohammed Iyaz (23), Mohammed Yashif (19), Irfan (25) and Insamam (25). All of them were involved in leather business, said police. Ahead of the festival, they planned a trip to Yelagiri during the weekend. 

Around 6 am on Saturday, they started from Mannadi in a car belonging to Fizal. When the car was on the Chennai– Bengaluru National Highway near Kancheepuram, a vehicle hit the car from behind. This caused Fizal, who was at the wheel, to lose control. In the impact, the car climbed over the median and got on to the other side of the road. A lorry coming in the opposite direction rammed it. 

The impact of the collision was so hard that the right side of the vehicle was ripped including the roof. Police said Javith, Fizal and Riyas from Mannadi in Chennai were killed on the spot. 

Even as the people came to the rescue of the car passengers, the lorry driver abandoned the vehicle and escaped from the spot. On information, the Kancheepuram taluk police went to the spot and rushed the injured to the Kancheepuram Government Hospital.

After going through the CCTV footage from a nearby building, the police officers said that a lorry rammed the car from behind and went without stopping. The Kancheepuram police have registered a case and are trying to identify the lorry which rammed the car.