Hitting pothole, woman falls off bike; truck runs over near Thirumangalam

CHENNAI: A 24-year-old woman, a M Com graduate was killed and her elder brother suffered injuries after they fell off the bike when it hit a water filled pothole on Jawaharlal Nehru Salai near Thirumangalam and the woman got run over by a truck trailing them on Friday night.

Police have launched a search for the truck driver who fled the scene without stopping the vehicle.

The motorable road on the stretch where the accident happened is shrunk due to Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) construction.

The deceased was identified as K Hemamalini. She was riding pillion with her brother, K Venkatesh (24). The siblings lived with their parents - Kuppan and Thayammal at Ambedkar Nagar near Ayanavaram.

"It was raining heavily. I thought it was stagnated water, but it was a pothole. After the bike hit the pothole, I fell to the left and my sister fell to the right. She was run over by a speeding truck and was killed on the spot," Venkatesh told mediapersons.

Since Kuppan has health complications, Thayammal and Venkatesh were taking care of the family. Police said that Thayammal was working at a hotel in Anna Nagar while Venkatesh was an air-conditioner mechanic.

On Friday night, Hemamalini and Venkatesh were returning home after attending the wedding reception of her friend in Ambattur when the accident happened.

Police rushed to the scene and moved Hemamalini's body to a government hospital for post mortem.

Thirumangalam TIW (traffic investigation wing) have registered a case and have launched a search for the truck driver.