Drivers killed as trucks collide, causing 3-km traffic jam in Gurugram

Police had to use land movers to remove the victims’ bodies from the mangled remains of the trucks.

Two truck drivers were killed after their vehicles collided head-on on the Gurugram-Farukhnagar Road early Saturday morning. The accident left the road blocked for two hours as the police used JCBs to remove the bodies from the mangled trucks. This resulted in a three-kilometre-long traffic congestion on the carriageway that goes towards Gurugram.

The collision took place on the Farrukhnagar-Gurugram state highway on Saturday. (Hindustan Times/HT Photo)

The police suspect the accident took place when one of the drivers allegedly tried to overtake a vehicle without noticing that another truck was approaching from the opposite direction.

DCP (crime) Sumit Kuhar said the reason behind the accident was not clear and the police were investigating. “It is not clear which vehicle violated traffic rules leading to the accident. Both the vehicles were removed from the highway to resume traffic, which remained disrupted for over two hours,” he said.

The deceased were identified as Sunil Kumar (25) a resident of Atele Khurd village in Dadri, Haryana, and Dhiraj Kumar (28) of Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh.

One of the trucks, carrying scrap, was coming from Faridabad and heading towards Ludhiana in Punjab while the other, laden with sand, was going towards Gurugram from Atela Khurd village in Dadri, 105 kilometers from the spot where the accident happened.

The trucks belonged to private individuals and the police have informed the family members of the deceased and the truck owners of the mishap, the police said.

“It is one of the most tragic accidents I have ever investigated. The family members of the driver belonging to UP will reach late night so the post-mortem will be conducted on Sunday,” assistant sub-inspector Satywan Lamba said.

A case was registered under sections 279(rash driving) and 304-A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code at Farukhnagar police station on Saturday.

After the accident, Sultanpur villagers rushed to the spot and called the police and ambulance. They also helped the police retrieve the bodies.

“I heard a loud noise and ran outside to see what had happened. The trucks had slid off the road and the roof was ripped open,” said Mahesh Kumar, a villager.

Another villager, Pawan Kumar, said, “It us took almost an hour to take the bodies out; they were crushed. We could establish the identities of the deceased from wallets found in the trucks.”

ASI Lamba said that it was possible that the driver carrying the scrap may have dozed off at the wheel. “We have recorded the statements of the eyewitnesses, who have alleged that the UP driver was at fault,” he said.

The Gurugram-Farukhnagar Road witnesses heavy traffic on weekends as it serves as a link to Jhajjar, Rohtak and Badli, among other neighbouring areas. A large number of people from these towns work in Gurugram.