14-year-old girl run over by tractor in Avadi

Pavithra was riding her bicycle to school when she lost her balance and fell down

A 14-year-old girl was run over by a tractor fitted with a trailer on Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) Road in Avadi on Thursday morning.

H. Pavithra was riding her bicycle to school, around 8.30 a.m., when she lost her balance and fell down.

The trailer ran over her and she died on the spot. The police arrested the tractor driver, Munusamy (29). Following the accident, the Chennai traffic police banned heavy vehicles from plying in the locality between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.

Pavithra, daughter of Harikrishnan, an autorickshaw driver, was a class IX student of Vijayantha Higher Secondary School in Avadi. Her elder sister Gayathri is a class XI student at the same school.

D. Subashini, the victim’s relative, said: “Gayathri, who was accompanying her sister, told us Pavithra lost her balance and fell.” The school is located on HVF Road and Subashini said the side of the road was dug up for civic work.

Relatives and friends of Harikrishnan said Pavithra was a very active girl and good at academics. “She was good at carol singing in the church. She was very friendly with all of us,” said Manny Sam Paul, a family friend.

K. Pandurangan, principal of Vijayantha Higher Secondary School, said Pavithra was as a disciplined student who never took a day’s leave.

The Poonamalee traffic investigation wing officers said Munusamy, the tractor driver, did not realise the girl was caught under his vehicle’s wheel, when the accident occurred.

Senior traffic police officers said between January 1 and December 2 this year, a total of six persons lost their lives in accidents involving tractors in the city.