10 killed in two car accidents

Five of a family, including three women and a six-year-old boy, drowned after a government bus rammed their stationary car from behind and pushed them into a canal near Thozhupedu on NH45 on Sunday night.

The deceased were identified as Thamizhselvi (60), her grandson Ilamparithi (6) and her relatives Dinesh (24), Prabavathi (40) and Radhika (30). Three others, driver Ajith Kumar, Saroja and Marikannu, suffered grievous injuries. The incident happened when the family was returning to their hometown Pudukkottai after attending an event in Chennai.

Police said they had parked the car near Thozhupedu after it ran out of fuel. When they were about to resume their journey, a government bus bound for Thiruvannamalai rammed the car from behind. In the impact, driver Ajith Kumar lost control over the vehicle, which nose-dived into a canal on the roadside and five persons died on the spot.

The bodies of the deceased were sent to Mathuranthagam Government Hospital for post-mortem, while the injured were treated at Melmaruvathur and Tindivanam hospitals. However, passengers in the bus escaped unhurt.

Kancheepuram Superintendent of Police Santhosh Hadimani, on receipt of information, rushed to the spot and conducted an enquiry. Thozhupedu residents complained to the officials that the narrow stretch of the highway has become an accident-prone zone and there are no barricades to prevent vehicles plunging into the canal. Police are yet to arrest the bus driver.

In yet another accident, four youngsters suffered grievous injuries after the car they were travelling rammed the median and plunged into a subway at Irumbuliyur near Tambaram on early Monday morning.

The injured persons identified as Nagaraj (24), Karthik (25), Jeeva (26) and Dinesh (26) were admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital. The incident happened when they were on their way back to Thiruvannamalai from Chennai. The car that approached from Chennai bypass lost control when it crossed the Irumbuliyur bridge and rammed the median before falling into the subway from a height of 30 feet. Chromepet police have registered a case and further investigation is on.