Two persons were killed and five others were injured when a car driven by a drunk person ran over them on Avinashi Road near Annur on Friday night. Annur Police said that the Senthil Kumar of Annur, a mechanic, who drove the car to Tirupur first knocked down a pedestrian S. Thulasiammal (50) of Pananthopumayil village Annur — Somanur Junction on Avinashi Road.
The car ran amok for about two km. and knocked down K. Nagaraj (40) of Kolathupalayam near Annur, his wife Maheshwari (30), son Moses (14) and daughter Darshini (10) from their moped at Oothupalayam Bus Stop.
The injured were rushed to Annur Government Hospital.
Moses who suffered a head injury was then referred to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital where he died that night. His father Nagaraj who also suffered a head injury died at a private hospital shortly after midnight.
Maheshwari and Darshini who suffered fractures on their right leg were treated in a private hospital in the city. Thulasiammal was treated for minor injuries and is out of danger.
Meanwhile, people at the accident spot caught Senthil Kumar and handed him over to the Annur police.
The police took him to the Annur Government Hospital and confirmed that he was drunk. He was initially booked under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Later, he was also booked under section 304A (causing death by negligence) of IPC, following the death of the two victims. Senthil was arrested and lodged in the central prison on Saturday.
Succumbs to burns
An 82-year-old man who suffered burns died at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital on Friday.
Singanallur Police said that the victim R. Murugaiyan, a resident of Ravathur near Singanallur, was boiling water in the stove, when he is said to have suffered from breathing difficulty, fell on the stove on Thursday and suffered grievous injuries.
He died while undergoing treatment at the medical college hospital.
Man arrested
Police on Friday arrested a man who was allegedly involved in the theft of four laptops at Saravanampatty on Wednesday and Thursday. The police said that Jose Dhamu Vel Edison (38) of Podanur was caught red handed by S. Chandran (24) of Nalvar Layout near Saravanampatty when he tried to escape with a laptop. Four laptops were recovered from him.