In a tragic accident, a girl studying Plus two was crushed to death and seven other girl students and driver were injured when the SUV in which they were going to school hit a road side tree at Natesapuram, near Kalayarkoil on Thursday morning.
Police said the driver, who was driving the vehicle at high speed, tried to overtake an autorickshaw in a turn, when he lost control and dashed against a roadside tree. The vehicle came to halt after getting into the roadside ditch. The newly bought SUV was reduced to a mangle in the impact.
S Divya (17), plus two student of the Sahaya Rani Girls Higher Secondary School in Susaiappar Pattinam, near Kalayarkoil died on the spot, while seven other girls, studying plus one and plus two in the same school suffered fractures in hands and legs, police said.
Collector S. Malarvizhi, who visited the injured students admitted to the Government Medical College hospital here, said one girl, who suffered fracture in chin has been referred to the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH), Madurai for facial surgery.
The other girls, who suffered fractures in legs and hands, were stable and they would undergo surgeries on Thursday night, the Collector said. The girls would be discharged in about ten days, she added.
Driver Karunakaran (35) who suffered fracture in his right leg has also been referred to GRH, she said. He was already undergoing treatment for lung cancer and he was referred there to avoid further complications, she said.
The girls, hailing from Panakarai, near Saruguni, who were going to school in school bus, switched over to the SUV after one of the girl’s cousin had bought the vehicle a fortnight ago. Arokiya Mary, Headmistress of the School, who visited the injured students, said she had warned them against coming to school in private vehicles.
