Five persons, including four of a family, were killed when a car they were travelling collided head-on with a lorry at Kumarakudi near Sri Mushnam in the early hours on Saturday.
The deceased have been identified as Murugesan (35), a resident of Pallavaram in Chennai, his wife Priyadarshini (28), son Madesh Kannan (8), mother-in-law Yesodai (55), and friend Raja (30). All of them were killed on the spot.
Another friend Sivasubramanian (30) who was also travelling with them sustained injuries. On information the police and fire service personnel rushed to the spot.
According to police sources, the impact of the collision was such that the front and the side portions of the car were ripped apart and the victims were inextricably caught in the mangled remains of the vehicle.
The personnel had to requisition the service of a boclain to retrieve the bodies from the totally crumbled car. The bodies were taken to the Chidambaram government hospital for post-mortem. Sivasubramanian was given first-aid at the Rajah Muthiah Medical College Hospital and later referred to the Jipmer in Puducherry.
Sources further said that Murugesan, who was running a hotel and a call taxi service at Pallavaram, along with family members and his friends, was proceeding to Orathanad in Thanjavur to attend a relative’s wedding. The cement laden lorry was on its way from Ariyalur to Chennai.
The driver and the cleaner of the lorry are said to have run away from the scene. The Chozhatharam police have booked a case and launched the hunt for the lorry crew.
