Road accidents claim four lives in three dists

Lucknow: At least four people were killed and two others injured in three separate road accidents in Basti, Gonda and Sant Kabir Nagar districts on Sunday, police said.

In Basti’s Munderwa area, a head-on collision between a scooter and a motorcycle claimed the lives of two riders. Police said 16-year-old Shivam Pandey and his friend, also named Shivam (16), were on their way to a community feast when their scooter collided with a motorcycle ridden by Jagdish. All three suffered severe injuries and were rushed to the district hospital, where doctors declared Shivam Pandey and Jagdish dead.

In Gonda, a 35-year-old man was killed after a speeding truck hit his scooter on the Gonda-Ayodhya highway near Katra Shivdayalganj under Nawabganj police station limits.

The victim, Adarsh Srivastava of Darzi Purwa village, died on the spot. Police said the truck driver fled, leaving the vehicle behind. The truck has been seized and efforts are underway to trace the accused.

In Sant Kabir Nagar, a 27-year-old motorcyclist died after losing control of his bike near Kushahwa Bazaar on the Mahuli-Basti road. The deceased, Shani Kumar of Harnahi village, was returning from Deisad with a child when the motorcycle skidded off the road, causing a fatal head injury. The child, Vivek Kumar, was seriously injured and admitted to a local health centre.