Two pre-university students were killed when a container truck hit their motorcycle near KPTCL office on the Bengaluru–Mysuru highway, in Channapatna town of Ramanagaram district on Friday.
V.B. Vivek (16) and V.Y. Suchitha Gowda (16) were students of Shantiniketan College of Science and Management Studies in Ramanagaram, the police said.
They were residents of Vandaraguppe in Channapatna and were going to the tuition centre when the accident occurred.
Vivek was driving the motorcycle and his neighbour, Suchitha, was riding pillion. They were not wearing helmets. While Vivek died on the spot, the girl succumbed to injuries while being shifted to a hospital, the Channapatna Town police said.
Preliminary investigation revealed that Vivek did not have a licence, the police said. According to eyewitnesses, Vivek lost control while trying to overtake the truck near the KPTCL (Old KEB Office) and came under the rear wheels of the truck.
Meanwhile, Suchitha’s parents donated her eyes to an eye bank in Bidadi, near Bengaluru.
Soon after the accident, her parents requested the police to help them donate her eyes. The police, relatives and friends helped them to fulfil their wish. After getting the message, Dr. Manjunath and his team from the blood bank visited the Channapatna Government Hospital, where the autopsy was conducted, and collected her eyes. The police have detained the driver and seized the truck. He has been booked for rash and negligent driving and causing death by negligence. Following the accident, the college management declared a holiday on Friday.
