Two persons from Tirunelveli district were killed and four others injured when the van in which they were travelling collided with a tipper lorry on the Madurai-Tiruchi highway near Kottampatti in the small hours of Friday.
The victims, R. Chandran (28) of Velayuthapuram and R. Ramar (40) of Madathur in Tenkasi taluk, were returning to Chennai after offering prayers at a temple of their family deity.
The police said that the lorry strayed into the four-lane highway all of a sudden from a bylane at Kadampatti and took the van driver by surprise. The lorry driver fled from the scene after leaving the vehicle.
Chandran’s wife Ramalakshmi (26), and Ramar’s wife Prabhavathi (38) and daughter Nandhini (21) and one Manickam, who were injured in the accident were treated at the Government Hospital in Melur.
The Kottampatti police are investigating.
