Speeding car from Chennai mows down five women on OMR
All five victims, who died instantly due to severe injuries, belonged to the same locality.
Visual from the accident spot (Thanthi TV)
CHENNAI: Five elderly women who were taking rest after taking the cattle for grazing were mowed down by speeding car on OMR aka IT Highway on Wednesday.
Police said four college students were inside the speeding car. Two of them were arrested and two students are missing.
The deceased were identified as Vijaya (65), Gowri (55), Logammal (60), Yasodha (55), and Andaya (65) all of them were residents of Pandithamedu village near Mahabalipuram. On Wednesday they took the cattle and goats for grazing on the fields in Paiyanoor village in OMR and were seated under a roadside tree.
Police said that the noon car which was heading towards Pondicherry from Chennai lost control and knocked on the women who were on the roadside and stopped after hitting another vehicle which was parked on the road. On impact, all five of them died on the spot with grievous injuries.
Police said there were four students inside the car and all of them escaped without any injuries as they were wearing seat belts and airbags were released. After the incident the students tried to flee the spot but the onlookers managed to catch two of them and they were attacked by the locals and were tied to a tree. On information, the Mahabalipuram police who rushed to the spot rescued the two students from the villagers and were taken to the Mahabalipuram police station.
The police identified that all four of them were studying in a private college in Paiyanoor in OMR. The police have registered a case and a search is on to capture the two other students who are missing.
Meanwhile, hundreds of villagers staged a protest by blocking the OMR and demanded strict action against the students. They claimed that all the students had consumed liquor and caused the accident. The protestors also demanded compensation from the government for the families of the five women who lost their lives. The police officials and Revenue officials who visited the spot held peace talks with the protestors and promised to take action against the students. Following the incident, the traffic was affected in OMR for more than two hours.
