Three persons of a family—a young girl, her mother and father—were killed in a road accident in the early hours of Friday in Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka. The accident occurred on National Highway 209 (Bengaluru-Coimbatore), wherein the driver is suspected to have lost control of the vehicle after driving at high speeds. The family was traveling from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu to Srirangapatna near Mysuru in a Tempo Traveller. Another person who was travelling in the vehicle is in critical condition and is being treated in the district hospital.

Another 10 persons who were in the vehicle were also injured, but they are all in a stable condition and are recuperating in the same district hospital. The incident occurred near the Suvarnavathi Dam, which is around 15 km away from Chamarajanagar town centre.

The group of 14 travellers were reportedly on their way to a temple and had started from Coimbatore at around 11.30 pm. Police suspect that the driver was over speeding to make up for a late start.

District Superintendent of Police, Divya Sara Thomas told TNM that the exact reason of the accident is yet to be established. She said, “There were a total of 14 persons in the vehicle. Out of them, three persons have succumbed to their injuries. One more person is critical. According to preliminary findings, it seems that this is a case of rash driving. But we are yet to ascertain the details and investigate the incident further. The driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel too.”

“We suspect that the driver lost control over the curve as the vehicle was going at a high speed. That part of the road has been recently redone,” she added.

According to local reports, the two adult deceased have been identified as Subramanya (65) and Amaravati (55).

This incident comes after three persons were killed on the same day in two separate accidents in the district on the same day last month. That time too, two residents of Coimbatore including an infant succumbed to their injuries.