Four people were killed on the Chennai-Bengaluru highway at Kandhikuppam in Krishnagiri district after a speeding car rammed into them, reports ToI.
Angry members of the public then set fire to the vehicle involved in the accident and pelted stones at passing cars.
According to reports, the deceased were identified as Bharath Samundi (17), S Gokul (17), both from Kandhikuppam, Vanaja (45), from Mallapadi and Dharman (40) from Marudha palli.
Six others who were injured have reportedly been admitted to hospitals.
Angry crowds even smashed the windows of a fire engine that had arrived at the spot.
Police were then forced to resort to lathi charge to disperse the agitators who sat down on the highway in protest against the incident.
Witnesses claimed that two speeding cars were trying to race on the highway and this led to the accident.
The driver of the car that was responsible for the death of four people was also injured and admitted to a hospital.
It is not new for vehicles to race along highways, putting the general public in danger.
The Pollachi-Coimbatore highway for instance sees buses driven dangerously and recklessly.
Private buses and government buses overspeed and even drive on the mud path to race each other to the nearest stop.
After the first video of buses racing with each other appeared in April, the RTO had arrested two drivers and withheld their licenses, as well as seized 23 buses for over-speeding and endangering passengers’ lives.
Similar action was also taken when a second video emerged in June.