Eight persons were killed while others sustained grievous injuries when the Chevrolet Tavera they were travelling in was rammed by a speeding lorry from behind on Outer Ring Road (ORR) at Suthariguda toll gate of Medchal late on Tuesday night.
The victims and injured were from Sadashivapet of neighbouring Medak district. They were coming to Medchal to attend a function when the accident occurred around 11 p.m.
“Driver stopped the Tavera at the toll gate to pay the toll. There was another lorry in the front. Meanwhile, a speeding Tata Goods Carrier crashed into the Tavera from behind,” Medchal Inspector Rajasekhar Reddy said. Impact of the collision pushed the Tavera which hit the lorry in the front.
Death was instant for seven inmates of the Tavera as it got crushed. Another person died after being shifted to hospital. Police are verifying reports that the Tavera driver first lost control and crashed into the lorry before being hit by another lorry from behind.
There were no lights on one side of the toll gate where vehicles had to stop to pay the toll. “Lack of lighting might have confused the vehicle drivers resulting in the accident,” Petbasheerabad ACP Ashok said.
Tavera driver was among the dead. It took more than an hour for the Medchal police to bring out bodies of three persons, who sat on the rear side seats. Police had to bring in a crane and pull the mangled metal sheet of the vehicle’s body to take out the bodies.
The accident spot presented a gory picture with flesh and broken vehicle parts of the vehicle strewn around. Victims were identified as Md. Akheel (19), Imroz (25), Sakhavath (30), Irfan (18), Feroz (22), Nishad (24), and Akbar (28). The eighth victim was yet to be identified.
Injured Abbas was admitted in near-by private hospital. Driver of the lorry fled the accident spot.
