Seven people were killed in two road accidents in Tumakuru and Bengaluru on Wednesday.
One of the accidents, claimed the lives of three MBBS students, all in their 20s, who were killed on the spot when the car they were travelling in collided with a truck laden with iron rods that had been parked on the side of a road in Devanahalli early Wednesday morning. A fourth medical student in the car sustained severe injuries.
The deceased — Prajwal, Vishal and Bhushan — were second year MBBS students at Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) and lived in the college hostel.
The injured student, Krishna Raj (24), who is in his final year, was driving the juniors to his village in Venkatagiri Kote in Devanahalli taluk when the accident took place, said the police. The four friends had left for the village a little after midnight.
Around 1.50 a.m., while they were near Sanna Amanikere railway gate junction, Krishna Raj drove into the parked truck laden with iron rods used in building constructions.
The police suspect that he did not see the truck as the driver, who is absconding, had not switched on the blinkers. “The car collided into the rear side of the truck with the iron rods protruding out it. It pierced the occupants, and three boys were killed on the spot,” said the police.
The police arrived at the spot around 2.10 a.m., extricated Krishna Raj who was moved to a private hospital. A case of rash and negligent driving causing accidental death has been registered against both, the truck driver and Krishna Raj. “We have booked both the drivers for criminal negligence leading to the death of three people,” said a police officer.
In another accident at Sira taluk, Tumakuru district, four people were killed and three others sustained serious injuries, after a van carrying seven youth from Bengaluru hit a crane that was attempting to remove a truck that had broken down on NH 48 in the early hours of Wednesday.
According to the police, the joint connecting the cabin to the goods trailer of the 10-wheeler truck had broken, and the crane was moving it to one side of the NH-48. At the same time, the van headed towards Hiriyuru in Chitradurga district from Bengaluru rammed into the crane.
The van was crushed on impact and four people, including the driver, were killed on the spot. The deceased have been identified as the driver of the van, Venkatesh (23), and passengers Shashikumar(22), Hemanth (24) and Kiran (23); all from Bengaluru.
Three others, Prajwal, Ashok and Anil Kumar, sustained severe injuries and were immediately shifted to Tumakuru district government hospital and later to NIMHANS in Bengaluru for further treatment.
