The eye-witness and one of the survivors of the accident near Marakkanam on Monday night when eight persons, including three policemen, were mowed down by a truck as they were engaged in relief work at the site of another accident, is undergoing treatment for head injuries at a private hospital here.
Balaraman, a taxi driver, was returning from Hanumanthai near Marakkanam when he stopped on seeing the accident. He had joined the policemen and passers-by who were trying to clear the accident site. His condition is stable, doctors said.
What started off the chain of tragic events was a collision between an SUV and a lorry at 11 p.m. Though the vehicles melded into each other, the occupants survived. But eight persons, including three policemen involved in relief work, were mowed down by a speeding container lorry. Five persons were killed instantly while three others died at Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences .
The victims were identified as J. Subbiah (52), Special Sub-Inspector and S. Dhavaseelan (37), Grade I constable attached to Highway patrol 13, S. Arumugam (45), head constable of Marakkanam police station, D. Sankar (40) of Jaganathapuram, S. Sekar (25) toll gate ambulance driver, D. Kalidass (25) resident of Alapakkam, D. Vijaya (48) resident of Ashok Nagar, Chennai and J. Suresh (29) resident of Marakkanam.
Among the four persons injured , three were discharged after treatment. Driver of the container lorry is absconding.
According to police, Vijaya along with her relatives was returning to Chennai in an SUV when an Eicher lorry coming from Jaganathapuram took a sudden turn on East Coast Road and hit the SUV. In the impact, the SUV got stuck onto the side of the lorry causing minor injuries to the occupants. A highway police patrol along with locals from Marakkanam rushed to the spot and was engaged in rescue operations.
A Mahindra Xylo driven by Suresh, a member of the Friends of Police, stopped at the site and assisted the police. Vijaya, who was seated in the car, Chandrasekhar (an ambulance driver), Dhavaseelan and Arumugam (constables) and Shankar (a passer-by) died on the spot. SSI Subbiah, Kalidass and Suresh were in front of the SUV when the speeding container lorry ploughed into the vehicles. They died in hospital.
