A charcoal dust –laden truck ran over five women, including a 12-year-old girl, after hitting a roadside tree at Kaalimatha Cross in Doddabelavangala, on the outskirts of the city on Wednesday night. Four other persons were also injured in the accident. The victims were walking back home after attending the wedding of their relative at Lakshmi Narasimhamurthy Kalyana Mantapa.
The deceased have been identified as Shanthamma (40), Savitha (36), Shashikala (32), Supratha (19), and Bhavana (12), residents of Chikkabelavangala village.
Truck driver arrested
The police have also arrested the truck driver, identified as Sathish Kumar of Dharmapuri, and seized the truck.
The eight-wheeler truck moving towards Doddaballapura from Dobbaspet lost control after the axel snapped, police said.
Since the stretch was on a steep slope the truck first hit a roadside tree. While some people managed to run to safety, nine persons came under the truck’s wheels, a senior police officer said.
Tension gripped the area when villagers rushed to the accident spot and staged a snap protest, blocking traffic on National Highway 207.
The villagers demanded a service road for pedestrians and two-wheeler riders, who are at risk due to the heavy movement of vehicles on the national highway.
This stretch is under repair as widening work had started a few days ago, which had affected the smooth movement of traffic. The Doddabelavangala police rushed to the spot and shifted the injured to Nelamangala hospital. The bodies of the deceased have been sent to Doddaballapura for post-mortem.
