Friday is the birthday of 19-year-old Vishali’s mother and she wanted to surprise her with a gift. But a trip to a garment shop ended in tragedy for Vishali when she was run over by a Chennai Corporation conservancy lorry on Bricklin Road in Otteri.
Vishali was a second-year B.Com student at Anna Adarsh College. “She wanted to buy two churidhar sets for our mother’s birthday. She was planning to go to the shop after classes along with her friend Praveena,” said her brother Naveen Raj.
According to the police, Praveena was riding the two-wheeler with Vishali riding pillion. On Bricklin Road, the garbage lorry hit their vehicle from behind. “The lorry then tried to overtake the bike on the right. Both Praveena and Vishali fell down and the latter came under the wheels of the lorry and died on the spot. The driver is absconding,” said a source at Kilpauk police station.
Vishali was the eldest daughter of Arputharaj N.S, who runs an airline ticketing firm, and Varalakhshmi. Naveen Raj is a Clas XI student in a private school. The family resides at Agathiyar Nagar in Villivakkam.
Vishali’s phone call records show that her mother had called her at 4.12 p.m., a while after the accident. “Someone called my mother and told her that Vishali had met with an accident,” said Naveen.
“She was very friendly and loved sports too. Her favourite sport was badminton,” her brother recalled.
Praveena sustained minor injuries and is recovering, sources said.
Thursday’s accident is the second such in a week. On July 18, a 13-year-old boy was run over by a Corporation conservancy lorry in Vyasarpadi.
