A two-wheeler rider who sustained severe head injuries after a giant sign board fell on his vehicle in Chennai’s Alandur, succumbed to his injuries on Monday, August 8. The man was among two injured when a bus rammed into the base of the sign board’s pillar on GST Road, and the giant metal board fell on the man’s two wheeler on Sunday, August 7. of that signboard's pillar.
The signboard, which was approximately at a 30-feet height and gives directions to commuters from Tambaram, fell on the man’s two-wheeler, a mini-truck and an auto rickshaw. The windscreen of the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) bus was damaged completely but no injuries reported from the passengers. However, In the accident, three people were injured. Two of them — Shanumugasundaram, the two-wheeler rider who hailed from Pudukottai, and Stephen from Pallavaram — were rushed to the Government Royapettah Hospital where they received treatment for their injuries. However, Shanmugasundaram passed away on Monday morning.
On Sunday, the MTC bus (Route No.70V) was going from Perungulathur to Koyambedu, near the Alandur metro. The bus driver, who lost control of the bus, rammed it into the huge signboard pillar that was put up by the State Highways Department. The bus driver Raghunath and conductor Chinnaiah fled the spot, but two hours later surrendered at the St Thomas Mount Traffic Investigation Wing office. Now, police have registered a case and investigations are going on.
Visuals from the site of Sunday’s accident show the two-wheeler completely crushed under the heavy steel pillar. The pillar completely blocked the road for a while before it was cleared by St Thomas Mount Traffic Investigation Wing and traffic police with a crane. Visuals also showed that the signboard itself had crashed down onto the opposite side of the road.
The traffic police personnel who arrived at the spot have launched an investigation to ascertain the circumstances leading to the accident. Eyewitnesses told police that the bus was overspeeding and the accident occurred when the driver was trying to negotiate at a curve.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has condoled the death of Shanmugasundaram, and announced that his kin will receive ex-gratia of Rs 3 lakh from the government. Of this, Rs 2 lakh is from the MTC while Rs 1 lakh has been sanctioned for the family from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund. The amount was given directly to Shanmugasundaram's family by Transport Minister SS Sivasankar.