The principal beachfronts of the city — Marina and Besant Nagar — burst into festive mood at the stroke of midnight on Thursday to welcome 2015.
Young men and women, children and elders descended in motorcycles and cars.
Fancy fireworks were set off on Kamaraj Salai opposite the Mahatma Gandhi statue. The police had a tough time keeping the over-enthusiastic youth in check. A few young men brazenly carried liquor bottles, consuming them opposite the office of the Director General of Police.
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At the Marina, the police went around in vehicles, wishing the crowd, while also urging them to usher in the new year without causing nuisance. Restaurants and some permit rooms too remained open well past midnight.
The night, however, turned tragic for four persons who died in accidents, and one youth who was murdered in festivity-related violence.
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A motorcycle ride back home post celebrations proved fatal for 34-year-old A. Rajesh (34) of Kilpauk. A trainee welder with the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC), he was riding pillion while his friend Sridhar (35), also from Kilpauk, rode the bike. Around 12.45 a.m., the motorcycle collided with an autorickshaw on New Avadi Road. Rajesh suffered severe head injuries and died on the spot while his friend was taken to hospital.
In another incident on Kilpauk Garden Road around the same time, a speeding autorickshaw rammed into three women, identified as Lakshmi, Selvi and Vasuki, as they were crossing the road on their way back from a nearby temple.
Lakshmi, a senior citizen, suffered severe injuries and died soon after, while the other two were injured.
Two people fell to their death, reportedly in an inebriated state. Ganesan (51), an MTC bus conductor, fell from his second-floor home in Nesapakkam, and died, while Gyanaselvam (48), an MTC bus driver, slipped and fell down three storeys inside the MKB Nagar bus depot.
A clash between some youngsters, amidst the revelry, ended in the death of an 18-year-old. The incident unfolded on Narivanam Salai in Mangadu when Rooban Parthiban of Mangadu and his friend Vijay, who were returning after celebrations with their friends, got into an argument with a bunch of men on the road.
Rooban was pushed to the ground in the melee, and died of serious injuries. The police have arrested two men in connection with the incident.