Teacher dies, 5 injured as car plunges into 30-feet ditch

Chennai: A teacher died, while his woman colleague and four students suffered injuries as their car veered off a flyover near Kundrathur and fell into a 30ft deep ditch on Sunday morning.The deceased was identified as Prabhakar, 44, a teacher at the Pazhaverkadu Govt Higher Secondary School and resident of NGO Colony, Ponneri, Tiruvallur district. He was driving from Ponneri to the Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Vandalur with colleague Sasikala, 36, her daughter Dikshita, 16, and students Lohith, 8, Mahizhini, 8, and Mazhali, 5.Police said the car was speeding along the Outer Ring Road near Vandalur when Prabhakar suddenly lost control on the flyover close to Kundrathur, and plunged into a ditch. Motorists who witnessed the crash rushed to rescue the victims and alerted police.Prabhakar died on the spot after sustaining severe head injuries. Sasikala and the four children suffered serious injuries and multiple fractures. They were pulled out of the car and were initially taken to the govt hospital in Tambaram. Due to the severity of their injuries, the four children were shifted to the Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children, Egmore, for advanced treatment.Chromepet Traffic Investigation Wing police have registered a case and are probing the cause of the accident.