Five members of a family, including two children died on the evening of Friday, November 19, after the auto rickshaw that they were travelling in collided head-on with a tipper lorry in Karnataka’s Mandya district. The accident occurred near the Nelamakanahalli village in Mandya.
The deceased are identified as Muttamma (45), president of Bandur Gram Panchayat, her daughter Basammanni (30), son Dadadapura Venkatesh (22), granddaughter Chamundeshwari (8) and Muttamma’s two-year-old grandson. According to IANS, Muttamma is the only Gram Panchayat President from the Korama community in the state.
The Times of India reported that the accident occured while the family was returning to Bandur after visiting a temple. The truck was going towards Maddur from Malavalli. The auto was mangled as a result of the accident. Muttamma and the two children died on the spot, while her son and daughter succumbed to injuries at the hospital.
The police, according to TOI, said that the accident appeared to have been caused due to rash driving by the drivers of both the auto rickshaw and the truck. However, the Malavalli Rural Police are investigating the case further to ascertain whether the accident was caused due to a mechanical issue or human error.
Just a day earlier, on Thursday, another head-on collision between a SUV and a taxi caused the death of three people in Bengaluru. According to a report in The Hindu, the taxi was heading to Kempegowda International Airport and the SUV was heading towards the city on the other side of the road. The combination of overspeeding and slippery roads due to rain caused the driver of the SUV to allegedly lose control of the vehicle, and caused him to hit the median and crash into the taxi.
The three people traveling in the taxi lost their lives in the accident. Following the accident, the driver of the SUV and others abandoned the vehicle and were at large.