Three members of a family of four returning to Hyderabad after celebrating Sankranti died in a road accident here on NH-65 (Vijayawada-Hyderabad) on Wednesday. Fourth member of the family — eight-year-old son Yunith — who sustained severe injuries was shifted for emergency care.
The accident occurred at around 11 a.m. near Komarabanda on the outskirts of Kodad, when the front right tyre of the SUV they were travelling in burst, District Superintendent of Police R. Venkateswarlu told reporters at the accident site.
The tyre burst combined with the vehicle speed caused the SUV to ram into the highway median and flip in the air before falling on two vehicles going towards Vijayawada, he explained.
Raavi Venkata Naga Murali, a 48-year-old businessman, his wife Akkineni Kavitha, a 38-year-old software professional and 16-year-old Dhanusha, a student, died on the spot. Native of Nuzvid in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, they were returning to their V.C. Nagar home in Hyderabad, the police said. Both the mother and daughter were thrown out of the vehicle and fell in the undergrowth on the margins of the highway, and Mr. Murali who was driving was stuck in the driver’s seat. Rescuers had to pull him out of the mangled remains of the SUV.
The two cars coming in the opposite direction had their roof damaged in the impact. The occupants of the two vehicles — a Gujarati family from Hyderabad in a car and a family from Ramayampet in Medak district in a SUV — were treated and declared stable at the Kodad Government Hospital.
Woman murdered
: Mangali Maniyamma (55) was brutally murdered on the intervening night of January 14 and 15 at Jarasangam mandal headquarters.
According to K. Edukondalu, Sub-Inspector, Jarasangam, Maniyamma was staying at the Ambedkar statue for the past few years. Some unidentified persons had hit her near her left ear killing her instantly.
