Brake failure in lorry kills two in Chennai

Chennai: A speeding lorry ploughed into motorcyclists waiting at the Moolakothalam signal near Basin Bridge on Monday morning, killing two men and injuring two others. Police said the lorry driver was unable to control the vehicle as the brakes failed. The lorry was transporting rice from the Vyasarpadi goods yard to the food supplies department godown on Mint Street. The driver lost control while descending a flyover, and the vehicle rammed into motorcycles lined up at the signal.

Witnesses said that moments before the crash, the driver sounded the horn — while motorists ahead scrambled to move aside, and some abandoned their vehicles and ran, those directly in the lorry’s path had little time to escape.

The two men killed were C Muralidharan, 56, of Mogappair East, an assistant registrar at Madras high court, and E Gautham, 60, of Avadi. The two men were travelling on separate motorcycles. Rajeshwari, 45, of Sowcarpet, an office assistant at Madras high court who was riding pillion with Muralidharan, and another man, Balakrishnan, 63, of Vyasarpadi, were injured and are undergoing treatment at Stanley Government Medical College and Hospital.

Washermenpet traffic investigation wing police recovered the bodies and sent them for post-mortem to Stanely hospital. A case has been registered against the driver, S Rajkumar, 46, of Koyambedu. Commuters who witnessed the accident attempted to assault the driver before traffic police intervened.

The accident triggered traffic congestion across north Chennai for several hours, with snarls reported on Wall Tax Road, Pulianthope, Moolakothalam and Mint Street, as vehicles backed up as far as Vyasarpadi.