Seven persons, including five women, were killed and three others were injured severely, after a truck rammed their passenger vehicle at the Khammam crossroads here, about 180 km from the State capital, on Sunday afternoon, said the Kodad police.
There were 10 occupants in the seven-seater rickshaw at the time of accident, and they were returning home from Sri Rama Navami celebrations at Tammara Bandapalem village, 3 km away. Six persons died on the spot. The police identified them as B. Naga Sulochana, 53, and Lakshamaiah, 60, wife and husband, Narmaneni Suguna, 51, a worker at the mandal market yard, Lakshmi, 45, Ambati Saidamma, 45, and 40-year-old Shaik Abbas, the rickshaw driver. Another person, V. Sailaja, 48, died while being treated at Khammam. Three others — Lakshmi Kumari, Renuka and Mangathayaru — were under emergency care.
Locals said most of the victims belonged to Bhavani Nagar colony in the town, and they were only a few hundred metres away from their apartments, when the tragedy struck. According to the eyewitness account, the seven-seater rickshaw was moving behind a State Road Transport Corporation bus on the Khammam-Kodad road and was hit by a cement truck, coming in the opposite direction, while overtaking the bus. The rickshaw was crushed and thrown away in the collision, and six of the occupants died instantly. The truck driver was at large.
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Passersby alerted medical emergency and the police. The Kodad police registered a case and investigation was on. Local legislator Bollam Mallaiah Yadav consoled the victims’ families. Other leaders in the district condoled the deaths. Congress leaders N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and N. Padmavathi Reddy demanded ex gratia for the victims.