A day later, boy hit by drunk car driver dies

Thirteen-year-old and his relatives were sleeping near a bus shelter in Egmore when the accident occurred

Every night, 13-year-old Muniraj, sleeping on the sands of Marina with his parents, used to overhear nari kuravas fighting amongst themselves and imitate them in front of his school principal.

Muniraj, >who was injured in an accident in Egmore on Thursday, died on Friday.

“He was talented in imitating someone just by listening to him to them with his eyes closed. He used to dance well. He learnt the art by watching television and he was good at imitating actor Vijay. I promised him a dance show and an opportunity to participate in the fancy dress competition during our school’s sports day. I was also planning to enrol him in Lawrence Raghavendra’s dance school as he was extremely talented. This is a huge loss to us,” said S. Usha, the principal of RBCC School in Chintadripet, where Muniraj studied.

Muniraj, his brother Vasu (8), their cousin Subha (10) and their grandmother Chandra were sleeping near a bus shelter outside Government Hospital for Women and Children on Pantheom Road on Thursday morning, when a speeding Benz car hit a police patrol vehicle, swerved into the shelter and finally came to a halt after slamming into an autorickshaw.

The three children and two men, Mohammed and Mani, who were placing hoardings at the shelter, were injured.

Vasu sustained a hip injury and Subha, who suffered multiple fractures, is recuperating at the Government General Hospital.

Muniraj, who suffered a pelvic fracture and abdomen injuries, had undergone a surgery at the Government Children’s Hospital on Thursday.

The police said the occupants of the car, Shaju Purushottaman, son of M.P. Purushothaman, chairman of the Empee Group, the driver Kumar and two others were drunk.

Muniraj’s father is an autorickshaw driver and his mother Malini used to assist Chandra is selling night clothes outside the hospital.

The three children had come to spend their vacation with their grandmother.

“Muniraj and his brother Vasu used to help their mother. They studied sitting on the platform. Due to the mosquito menace, the family used to sleep on the beach frequently. He was a good student and had been promoted to class VIII,” said Ms. Usha.

The Anna Square traffic inspector Ravichandran has been suspended for dereliction of duty.

The case has been handed over to Munusamy, Anna Nagar traffic investigation inspector.

“We arrested driver Kumar on Thursday. We have formed four teams to nab the other three occupants of the car, including Shaju Purushothaman,” said a senior police officer.