Truck hits teen after driver suffers heart attack in Punjab’s Dhakoli

Not realising his medical emergency, passers-by beat up truck driver, who died later; 14-year-old girl hospitalised for arm injuries

A 14-year-old girl’s arm was crushed by a truck after its driver suffered a heart attack and lost control of the vehicle in Dhakoli on Thursday.

The truck driver, identified as Sham Sunder, 49, was thrashed by onlookers unwary of his medical emergency and he was later declared dead at a government hospital, said police. (HT Photo)

The truck driver, identified as Sham Sunder, 49, was thrashed by onlookers unwary of his medical emergency and he was later declared dead at a government hospital, said police.

Sunder was a native of Nalagarh, Himachal Pradesh.

Dhakoli SHO sub-inspector Hardeep Singh said Sunder was on his way when he suffered a heart attack and lost control of the vehicle near the Dhakoli railway crossing. The truck ended up hitting Aarti Kumari, 14, a student of Guru Gobind Singh Public School, Dhakoli, who was walking back home.

While the truck driver’s condition went unnoticed, the girl was rushed to the Dhakoli community health centre, where doctors referred her to GMCH, Sector 32, Chandigarh. From there, she was referred to PGIMER due to serious injuries to her arm.

The truck driver, after his beating by onlookers, was taken to the Dera Bassi civil hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead and confirmed that he had suffered a heart attack, the SHO said.

He added that no FIR had been lodged as the girl’s parents had not given a statement. The body of the truck driver has been kept at mortuary of the Dera Bassi civil hospital for autopsy. His family members have been informed.