Virudhunagar
Sixteen persons were injured when a speeding omni-bus rammed a cargo van on Tirunelveli-Madurai highway near R.R. Nagar past Sunday midnight.
They were admitted to government hospitals in Virudhunagar and Sattur.
The police said that the van, carrying 10 persons, was proceeding from Ayyanar Oothu near Kayathar to Theni district for selling utensils.
When the van was proceeding near the road overbridge (ROB) at R.R. Nagar, the driver, N. Shahul Hameed (30) had to slow down it for a diversion towards the opposite lane on the four-way highway.
The driver of the speeding bus, proceeding towards Coimbatore from Thisayanvilai, could not control it and he hit the van at around 12.30 a.m. on Monday.
After hitting the van, the bus jumped the road on the opposite lane towards the service road and knocked down the compound wall of a house along the highway.
Six persons, including the driver of the bus, K. Sudalaimuthu (39), and 10 persons of the van were injured.
National Highways Authority of India had diverted the vehicles on Tirunelveli-Madurai lane towards the opposite lane allowing two-way traffic after a portion of the ROB collapsed a few days back. Vachchakarapatti police are investigating.
