Speeding trucks trigger serial accident, blaze

NT Correspondent

A major accident took place near Devanahalli National Highway (NH7) on Thursday night. Three trucks were badly damaged in a collision resulting in a blaze and the death of one of the drivers.

Police identified the deceased as Vasanth Kumar, 28, a resident of Bagepalli in Chikkaballapura district.

The incident occurred on the Highway near Bhukti Dhaba when two speeding trucks carrying loads of cement from Andhra Pradesh, reached near the dhaba. Sources said that one of the loads was being carried to Mysuru while the other was to be brought to Whitefield in Bengaluru.

It was revealed by the sources that the two truck drivers were allegedly racing each other. While doing so, one of the drivers pulled his truck towards the dhaba where Vasanth Kumar had stopped his canter. “The speeding truck hit the canter in full force pushing it over the divider to the other side of the road. The canter overturned due to the impact,” said an eye-witness from the accident spot.

An incoming truck from the other side coming from Bengaluru crashed into the overturned canter. Due to this, the driver was thrown out of the cabin smashing the windshield in the process. “Soon the canter and the truck caught fire one after the other,” said the eye-witness.

The locals and other people came to the rescue and pulled the driver out of the truck which had crashed into the canter. Then the driver who was thrown out of the incoming truck was taken aside to be treated. Unfortunately Vasanth Kumar who was stuck inside his canter, was charred to death, sources said.

Jurisdictional police rushed to the spot after being alerted about the incident by one of the locals. According to the sources, four fire tenders from Peenya, Yelahanka, Devanahalli and Chikkaballapur limits reached the place and doused the fire.

“Due to the accident, the road was jam packed causing long traffic snarls on the highway,” another source said. However, police officials from Vijayapura and Devanahalli police stations cleared the congestion.

The body of the deceased driver was sent to a hospital while the injured are getting treated at a local hospital, police said. Further investigation on the case is underway, they added.