An autorickshaw driver was killed and four others injured after a car rammed a line of parked autos on Chennai’s Cathedral Road, early on Sunday morning. The car, with a VIP number, was driven by a college student, who was reportedly in an inebriated state.
This is the second time that such an accident has occurred in the area, with another auto driver killed in the same manner at a nearby spot in September last year.
At around 2am on Sunday morning, a line of around 20 autos were standing parked on the side of the road near Stella Maris College, when a speeding Chevrolet Cruz car rammed six of them. One of the drivers, 33-year-old Rajesh hailing from Arakonam, was sleeping inside his auto, and was killed in the impact.
The car was driven by 20-year-old K Naveeth, studying in the second year of his Bachelor’s of Commerce degree in a private college in the city. The police told The New Indian Express that he was found to be drunk at the time of the accident. Four other college students were with him in the car – reportedly identified by the police as R Kiran Kumar (19), R Vishal Rajkumar (19), N Hari Krishnan, (21) and P Vinoth (20). They were all returning from a late-night party.
The Adyar traffic police has filed a case against all the five students on charges of drunken driving, and an investigation has been launched. Preliminary probe has shown that three of the five had consumed alcohol. A case under nine different sections has been filed on the students.
The four auto drivers who were injured in the accident have been admitted to a nearby government hospital. “We do not how the car came. We all woke up due to the impact of the accident,” one auto driver at the scene of the accident told Puthiya Thalaimurai.
“Last year, the same thing happened and there were 20 vehicles parked. If they put barricades on that road, people will at least slow down and come. Otherwise, they come very fast,” said another driver. "The government does not care and the police have done nothing to ensure such accidents don't happen. The government should pay Rs 25 lakhs to his family," demanded another auto driver.
In September last year, a 29-year-old driver, Arumugam, was killed after a Porsche rammed several parked auto-rickshaws on RK Salai. The car was driven by 22-year-old Vikash Anand, a racer and student from Chennai.