The accident occurred while the victims were sitting by the side of the road.
Seven women, who had been sitting on the low-level concrete median, tragically lost their lives when a tourist van, struck from behind by a goods-laden lorry, toppled onto them. This incident occurred on the Chennai-Bengaluru Highway (NH 44) near Sandaipalli village, close to Natrampalli town, within Tirupattur district, in the early hours of September 11.
According to police reports, a total of ten individuals, including the van and lorry drivers, sustained injuries during the accident, with five of them being women. The deceased victims have been identified as M. Meena (50), D. Devayani (32), P. Saittu (55), S. Devika (50), V. Savitri (42), K. Kalavathi (50), and R. Geetha (34). All of them hailed from Pernambut town in Vellore district.
These seven women, along with eight relatives from Pernambut town, were on a sightseeing trip to pilgrim and tourist destinations in Karnataka, commencing on September 8. They had rented a tourist van for transportation.
Upon concluding their tour of various attractions, they were on their way back home when the front wheel of their van suffered a puncture. Consequently, all passengers disembarked from the vehicle and were seated on the approximately one-foot-high concrete median near the van. The van had its hazard lights and additional lighting activated, as reported by The Hindu
Unfortunately, P. Arunachalam (34), the driver of the goods-laden lorry, carrying a consignment of smart boards for classrooms en route from Bengaluru to Chennai, failed to observe the stationary van and collided with it from behind. This collision resulted in the van toppling onto the individuals seated on the median, leading to the tragic deaths of seven women at the scene. The incident took place at approximately 2:40 a.m. on September 11.
This is a developing story.