MADURAI
Six persons, including five of a family from Villapuram in Madurai, were killed when a speeding SUV hit a moped and flipped over, on the Virudhunagar-Madurai highway in Sivarakottai near Tirumangalam, early on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
The deceased were identified as R. Kanagavel, 62, his wife Krishnakumari 51, their daughter-in-law Nagajothi, 28, and her twin daughters, Siva Athmika and Siva Shri, 8. The other deceased is G. Pandi, 52, a fruit-vendor from Nilayur.
Except for Siva Shri, who succumbed to injuries after being rushed to the Tirumangalam Government Hospital, all others were killed on the spot.
Three others including the twin sisters’ brother, Siva Aditya, 5, and their relatives, Rathnasamy, 64, and Meena, 55, were injured in the accident.
K. Manikandan, the father of the children, who was driving the SUV, escaped with minor injuries as the airbag saved him, police said.
The police said Manikandan’s family was returning home from Dhalavaipuram after visiting a temple. When the SUV was passing through Sivarakottai at around 6.30 a.m., Manikandan lost control of the vehicle and the speeding SUV hit the moped Pandi was riding on the extreme left side of the carriage way.
Initially, the police had suspected that the SUV could have knocked down the moped when Pandi was trying to cross the four-lane highway. However, based on video footage of a closed circuit television camera, Deputy Superintendent of Police-Tirumangalam S. Arul clarified that the driver seemed to have lost control of the vehicle which got dragged towards the two-wheeler lane and hit the moped.
After ramming against the moped and subsequently the median, the SUV flew in the air for a few seconds before crossing over to the opposite lane and fell on the service road. A bike-rider and a pedestrian on the service road had a providential escape as the flying vehicle fell with a thud in close proximity to them.
All the injured were rushed to the Government Hospital in Tirumangalam. The Kalligudi police have registered a case and are investigating.
