Traffic cop killed after being crushed between load van and container truck

CHENNAI: A traffic constable was killed after he was crushed between two heavy vehicles along the Chennai- Bengaluru highway near Sriperumbudur during the early hours of Sunday.

The deceased traffic constable was identified as Muthukumaran (40), a native of Kancheepuram. He was attached to the Sriperumbudur traffic police station.

Muthukumaran was on traffic regulation duty along the Chennai-Bengaluru highway near Rajiv Gandhi memorial when the accident happened.

Police investigations revealed that while Muthukumaran was regulating traffic, a load van coming towards Chennai had swerved towards the right to take a turn, to take the Manimangalam road, when he lost control of the vehicle and hit Muthukumaran.

The driver could not stop the vehicle and it came to a halt after the load van hit a container truck going towards Kancheepuram. Muthukumaran got crushed between the two heavy vehicles and suffered serious injuries.

His co-workers and members of the public rushed to Muthukumaran's aid and rescued him. The traffic constable was rushed to a hospital nearby where he was declared as brought dead. Sriperumbudur police recovered his body and moved it for post mortem.

The drivers of the load van and the container truck abandoned their vehicles and fled the scene. Police have launched a search for the drivers. Traffic was affected in the stretch for about a hour because of the accident, police said.