Three members of a family and their driver were killed when their car collided with a tipper lorry at Ramanattukara on Monday.
The deceased were identified as Varikkottil Yahutty, 63; his wife Nabeesa, 54; daughter Saheera, 34, and driver Madathilparambil Zainudheen, 49, – all hailing from Tirur in Malappuram district.
There were seven persons in the car. They were on their way back from the city after consulting an eye specialist for Mr. Yahutty and Ms. Nabeesa.
One of the victims died on the spot. The other three were declared dead at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital. Hospital sources said three persons, including two children, suffered serious injuries and were now in intensive care. The car was completely damaged in the collision.
Police suspect overspeeding to be the cause of the accident.
An eyewitness reportedly told the the police that the car had tried to overtake another lorry before ramming the tipper lorry
The accident took place during the peak hours of traffic on the Ramanattukara bypass road. Traffic was stalled for nearly an hour, interrupting even the ambulance services.
The route was later cleared by police personnel from Feroke.
The collision took place at an accident-prone stretch of the bypass. In 2009, four Payyoli natives were killed in a car-lorry collision in the area.
