Four persons from Kanyakumari district were killed and another five injured when an SUV carrying them hit the parapet wall of a bridge on the Tirunelveli-Madurai four-way highway near Sattur in the early hours of Monday.
The victims were proceeding to attend a funeral in Coimbatore from Colachel when the speeding vehicle dashed against the wall near Nalli junction at around 3.45 a.m.
While the bodies of R. Sindhukumari (40), S. Sathish (45), R. Jayashree (43) and V. Biju (driver) have been kept at the government hospital in Kovilpatti, the injured have been rushed to Tirunelveli Medical College hospital in Palayamkottai.
The police suspect that the vehicle could have veered off the highway after driver dozed off.
The injured were identified as M. Ramapatran (55), S. Sreeja (40), S. Krishnaveni (39), V. Sudhasini (55) and R. Aravindhan (14).
The Sattur Taluk police are investigating.
