A 17-year-old PU student was killed and ten others injured when the autorickshaw they were travelling in collided head-on with a goods vehicle in Gouribidanur in Chickballapur district on Thursday morning (November 23).
The victims are from Kurugodu village and were heading to Gouribidanur to attend college in the morning when the accident occurred. The students usually depend on private vehicles and autos to commute to schools and colleges due to non-availability of bus service, a police officer said.
Because of this, autorickshaws and private vehicles make the most of it and drive rashly to complete as many trips as possible, the police officer added.
The autorickshaw driver, identified as Lokesh, 19, who was also injured in the accident, was driving in a rash and negligent manner while negotiating a curve and crashed into the goods vehicle coming from the opposite direction near Nagappa block, said the police.
Due to the impact, the autorickshaw was mangled and the passengers were thrown in all directions. Passers-by rushed to their help and shifted the injured to the hospital, where the victim, identified as Vanaja, succumbed to her injuries. While the condition of two other students is critical, the others are being treated at two different hospitals and said to be out of danger.
The driver of the goods vehicle fled the scene soon after the accident, leaving the vehicle behind.
The police said they will meet with autorickshaws and private vehicle operators soon to create awareness about ferrying excessive passengers.
The city traffic police have recently launched a drive against autorickshaws and private vehicles ferrying school children in excess numbers. As many as 100 vehicles have been booked and the driver would continue to check the menace, Joint Commissioner of Police, Traffic, M.N. Anucheth said.
