A 14-year-old boy was crushed to death and three others, including a woman, were injured when a truck allegedly ran over them while they were sleeping on the footpath near Nelamangala toll gate in the early hours of Monday.
Jithu Chouhan was crushed to death while 45-year-old Mala and two others sustained severe injuries and were rushed to Victoria Hospital. According to the police, Mala’s condition is said to be critical while the two others are said to be out of danger.
The victims hail from Maharashtra and were earning a livelihood by selling toys and wares at traffic junctions.
Investigations revealed that they had come as part of a larger group and were living on the footpaths for the past one month.
On Sunday night, the group decided to return to their native place to meet their family members and get fresh stock of wares. They reached Nelamangala and slept on the pavements, planning to start the journey back home on Monday.
The truck, coming from the city, was heading towards Tumakuru. The driver lost control while trying to stop at the toll gate. As a result, the truck veered off the road on to the footpath, and ran over the victims who were asleep, the police said.
While Jithu and Mala came under the wheels, the others jumped to safety but were injured in the process.
The truck driver abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene. Passers-by, along with the toll gate staff, rushed to the aid of the victims and alerted the Nelamangala police before shifting the injured to a hospital.
The Nelamangala traffic police have taken up a case of death due to negligence, rash and negligent driving against the driver, and efforts are on to track him down.
