A speeding pick-up vehicle claimed the life of two workers cleaning a road and left their colleague critically injured in Bhanu village on Monday afternoon. The pick-up driver and his brother, who was in the vehicle, were also injured in the incident.
The deceased were identified as Nathu Ram of Devi Nagar in Sector 3, Panchkula, and Faheem of Majri while their injured colleague has been identified as Ballu Ram. The trio worked for the National Highways Authority of India.
As per the police, the trio was working on the road when a pick-up vehicle, which was on its way to Barwala, hit them and dragged them for a distance before crashing into a tractor-trailer parked on the highway.
The pick-up vehicle driver, Ajay, and his brother, Somdas, both hailing from Himachal Pradesh, who are in the business of poultry, also sustained injuries in the crash. As per the police, the impact of the collision was so strong that police and passersby struggled to pull the injured out of the vehicle.
All the injured were rushed to the Civil Hospital in Sector 6, Panchkula, from where Ballu Ram was referred to Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research.
{{/usCountry}}All the injured were rushed to the Civil Hospital in Sector 6, Panchkula, from where Ballu Ram was referred to Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research.
{{/usCountry}}The driver, Ajay, is learnt to have told the police that he did not notice the men working on the road and his vehicle’s brakes seemed to have jammed. Police, however, suspect that Ajay may have dozed off while driving.
As per the police, the tractor trailer was also parked illegally, and there were no ‘men-at-work’ signs or other safety equipment on the road.
A case under Section 304A (death by negligence) and 279 (rash driving) was registered at the Chandimandir police station.
The bodies have been shifted to the mortuary of the civil hospital, Sector 6, Panchkula. Police said the pick-up driver will be arrested soon.