Homeless man killed, 3 others hurt as truck climbs footpath in south Delhi’s Okhla

The police identified the dead man as Lalan, a homeless man, who lived on the footpath and worked odd jobs. The injured include a man and women, both aged 60 years, and a 13-year-old boy.

A 55-year-old homeless man was killed and three others injured after a truck crashed onto a footpath they were sleeping on, under Modi Mill Flyover in south Delhi’s Okhla in the early hours of Thursday.

Police said the truck had broken through the fencing of the footpath and ran over four persons. (Sourced)

Minutes after the fatal accident, a Maruti Ciaz went on to ram the truck. The sedan driver later blamed poor lighting and a curve on the road for his loss of control.

The police identified the dead man as Lalan, a homeless man, who lived on the footpath and worked odd jobs. The injured include a man and women, both aged 60 years, and a 13-year-old boy. They remain hospitalised with serious injuries, a senior police officer said.

The police received a call at 1.20am Thursday about the accident. “We were told that there were three to four victims, including one still trapped under the truck,” an officer said.

“When we reached the spot, we found that the truck had broken through the fencing of the footpath and ran over four persons. Three of them were pulled out and taken to a hospital while the fourth was trapped under the truck and couldn’t be rescued easily,” the officer said.

“We then sought the help of traffic policemen to arrange a hydraulic crane and used it to remove the truck. But the trapped man had died by then,” the officer said.

There was no eyewitness and the truck driver had fled. “We interacted with the driver of a sedan that had crashed into the truck. He said the mishap had occurred before his car rammed the truck,” the officer said.

The police were unable to interact with the injured persons who continued to undergo treatment for serious injuries. The police have registered a case of causing death due to negligence at Amar Colony police station and are searching for the errant driver.