Thirty-five-year-old Devi, alias Pichaiammal sells bangles from her cart outside Murugan Temple in Vadapalani and supports her family of three children. On Wednesday, a contented stroll towards home with her teenage son after work turned tragic, as within the space of a few minutes, she watched helplessly as her son came under the wheels of a speeding lorry on 100 feet road. The youth later died in hospital.
The victim, R. Saravanan (17), a resident of Bhajanai Koil 1 Street in Vadapalani, was a class XII student of a government school in Kodambakkam and helped his mother with her work after school hours. “He had come in the evening to help me. We wound up around 8 p.m., and were walking home. He was pushing his bicycle and I was walking next to him. Suddenly, a lorry ran into us from behind and he was caught under its wheels,” said Devi, crying. She had to watch as son was dragged by the vehicle.
Passers-by rushed to his aid. They also assaulted the driver of the lorry, later identified as John (29), of New Washermenpet. John surrendered to the police, officials at the Pondy Bazaar traffic investigation wing, said.
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The injured teenager was rushed to Sooriya Hospital in Saligramam where he died around 2 a.m. on Thursday. He is survived by his mother, brother Ramesh (19) and sister Bhuvaneswari (14). His father died three years ago.