Cops rescue trapped driver after lorry turns turtle

CHENNAI: A driver trapped inside his lorry was rescued after a two-hour struggle by traffic police officers and firemen on Sunday. The man was trapped inside the lorry when it rammed a stationary truck and turned turtle on Chennai Bypass Road.
Police said Govindarajan, 45, driver of a container lorry (TN-31, F-3337) was driving towards Puducherry with a consignment of aerated drinks from a factory in Nemam village.Around 5am, he rammed into a container truck (TN-28, AM 3208), which was parked on the roadside due to a puncture. The container lorry was carrying a load of rolled steel sheets.
The driver of the container lorry had parked the vehicle close to the median and left to find help. When Govindarajan’s lorry hit the parked truck, the huge consignment of aerated bottles fell on the road.
A few passers-by informed the control fire and rescue services personnel. Meanwhile, a traffic police patrol vehicle reached the spot and checked to see if someone was caught inside the vehicle.
“Initially we could not spot anybody, but we heard sounds from a man inside the lorry. Finally our team located Govindarajan. He was trying to pull his leg out which was stuck beneath the steering wheel,” said V Kannan assistant commissioner (traffic) St Thomas Mount.
“After more than two hours, our team managed to rescue the driver,” said inspector Venkatesan.
Govindarajan, who had a deep injury on his leg, was taken to a private hospital where his condition is said to be stable. Traffic on Chennai Bypass Road was affected for more than an hour due to the accident. However, police later brought the traffic under control.