Four people were killed and three sustained injuries on Sunday on the Chennai-Bengaluru highway at Kandhikuppam in Krishnagiri district, when a speeding car hit them. The four bystanders are said to have died on the spot.
The accident took place when the car was trying to overtake another car, but the driver lost control and instead hit the bystanders, the police told the Press Trust of India.
While arrests are yet to be made, locals vandalised the accused's car and set it on fire. They also blocked the highway and staged a protest demanding action against the accused. They were later chased away the police.
Meanwhile, Sunday witnessed another accident when a van and a private bus collided on the National Highway in Tirupur district. The collision left four people dead and at least 20 others injured.
The Chennai-Bengaluru highway has been infamous for accidents. In August, six people were killed and eight others sustained critical injuries when a Tata Indica and a Mahindra Scorpio collided with a Mercedes Benz coming from the opposite direction on the highway in Vellore district. Four people had died on the spot, while the other two died after they were taken to the hospital.
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.
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.
