Trucks collide, driver burnt alive

Bengaluru: A 28-year-old man at the wheel of a cement-laden truck was charred to death after his vehicle collided with another truck on NH-44 near Devanahalli on Thursday.
Police said the truck’s fuel tank was damaged in the collision and ignited a blaze. The deceased is Vasanth Kumar, 28, a resident of Guttapalli village near Bagepalli, Chikkaballapur district.
The incident took place around 9.40pm when two cement-laden trucks, one driven by Kumar and the other by Velu, were moving towards Bengaluru. One truck tried to overtake the other near Avathi village. The vehicles brushed against one another and the fuel tank of Kumar’s truck was damaged.
While Kumar’s truck fell on the median, the other one jumped lanes and came to a halt on the opposite side.
The leaked fuel caught fire and flames engulfed the vehicle. Kumar was stuck in his seat and charred to death while Velu escaped with minor injuries. The accident led to a traffic jam on both sides of the highway for more than an hour. Police rushed to the spot even as three fire tenders tried to douse the flames.
A case was registered and both vehicles seized for further investigation.