Six people were killed and eight others sustained critical injuries on Sunday when a Tata Indica and a Mahindra Scorpio collided with a Mercedes Benz coming from the opposite direction on the Chennai-Bengaluru highway in Vellore district. The injured, which include two women, were taken to the Vellore Government Hospital and Christian Medical Hospital.
Eyewitnesses said that the collision took place around 3.30 pm on Sunday and four people died on the spot. The other two died after they were taken to the hospital, reported The News Minute.
The Mercedes Benz was going from Bengaluru to Chennai and had veered off to the wrong side in an attempt to avoid hitting a two-wheeler. However, the vehicle not only hit the two-wheeler but also collided with Scorpio coming from the opposite direction in the other lane. The Indica was said to be behind the Scorpio, which hit the SUV and fell into a pit, an eyewitness told the Times of India.
The deceased have been identified as Lakshmiprabha, Bhagyalakshmi and Govindaraj, who were travelling in the Scorpio. They are said to be from Bengaluru. Charlie Ratinaraj and his brother Gnanaraj of Kancheepuram were travelling in the Indica. The collision also killed Ravichandran, who was riding the two-wheeler, which had abruptly stopped in front of Scorpio, causing it to veer into another lane. He was a from Nandiyalam.
Meanwhile, the Chennai-Bengaluru highway has been infamous for accidents. In May, Kannada TV actress Rekha Sindhu had died in an accident near Sunnampukuttai, after her speeding car hit the divider. The 4-km stretch on the Maduravoyal bypass has witnessed the maximum number of accidents in Tamil Nadu in 2015. It has been said that the stretch sees one accident every five days.
Speaking of the accidents, the traffic police state that these collisions happen as Chennai has a vehicle density of 2,093 for every kilometre and vehicles usually move at a high speed on highways.
"A man driving on the highway is generally moving at high speed because there are not many vehicles on the road. As he nears a city, the driver does not realise that there could be an oncoming vehicle that can hit him," TOI had earlier quoted a senior official from the State Traffic Planning Cell as saying.
