A couple, travelling by a lorry loaded with iron rods, was crushed to death, when the driver applied sudden brakes near Vempadu in the limits of Nakkapalli Police Station on Saturday night.
The couple died when the iron rods fell on them under the impact of sudden brake giving them no scope to escape near the toll plaza.
Fortunately, their four children and another child, who were sleeping on the iron rods, escaped with minor injuries.
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The deceased were identified as Tirumala Venkatesh (45) and his wife Polamma (40), residents of Gajuwaka in the city. They were going to their hometown Upparapalem in Vinukonda mandal of Guntur district.
Nakkapalli SI L. Ramakrishna said the couple, hailing from the Gangireddu community, were going along with their four children and one more boy (their relative) to perform ‘Gangireddu Aata’ during the Sankranti festival to earn money.
They boarded the lorry at Gajuwaka around 9 p.m. on Saturday.
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The police said during the loading of iron rods, a little space is left between the luggage and engine cabin to minimise the damage in case the bars move towards the cabin during transportation. The couple slept in the little space while the children slept on the iron bars in the luggage cabin of the vehicle.
As the lorry approached the toll plaza, the driver applied sudden brakes resulting in the iron bars sliding towards the engine cabin and crushing the couple to death.
The police registered a case and are investigating it.