Tree falls on car in KK Nagar: Woman bank manager dead, 2 injured

CHENNAI: A lady bank manager died, while her sister and car driver escaped with minor injuries after a tree uprooted and fell on the car, they were travelling in, along Lakshmana Samy Salai in KK Nagar on Friday evening.

Road dug for city corporation’s stormwater drain works near the tree is suspected to have loosened the soil near the tree, which led to the uprooting.

The victim, K Vani (57) was seated in the backseat of the car along with her sister , S Ezhilarasi (52). Police said that the accident happened around 5 pm. The deceased lived in Porur and worked as a manager at a city Indian overseas bank branch.

She was traveling back home in her car with sister after visiting T Nagar, when the accident happened, police said.

Police team rushed to the scene and rescued the occupants of the car. The bank manager was moved to the Government Omandurar hospital, where she was declared brought dead. Ezhilarasi and the driver, Karthik are treated for injuries at a private hospital.

Traffic was diverted on the stretch. Frequent commuters alleged negligence on part of the civic body, which led to the accident and sought for stringent action against the concerned authorities.

Police said that they would be investigating whether the civic body contractor’s negligence led to the uprooting of the tree. According to civic body sources, digging happened on the stretch last on June 15.

A Chennai Corporation senior official claimed that storm water drain work was stopped on Wednesday, ten feet from the tree. "We were mooting ways to construct the drain without removing the tree. The fallen tree was an Indian ash tree. Also, two trees fell on June 17 and June 22 on the same street, " the official added.

The official said that inquiry will be conducted to identify the reason for the tree fallen incident with experts from horticulture department.