11 killed in road accidents

Vijayawada/Rajahmundry/Chittoor/Srikakulam: Eleven persons were killed in separate road accidents in the State on Sunday.

In Krishna district, at least five persons were killed in a lorry-auto-rickshaw collision at Pedapalaparru village under Mudinepalli mandal. Four more injured were admitted to the Government Hospital in Gudivada. In yet another accident, two persons were killed when the car in which they were travelling hit a roadside tree at Pitchaturu village in Chittoor district.

3 killed in Rajahmundry
Three persons were killed and two more grievously injured when a private bus rammed into vehicles at a traffic junction here on Sunday. While Rali Venkanna (43), Inapakolla Durga Kiran (13) and Sivaneni Mahalakshmi (70) died on the spot, two persons, who were severely injured, were rushed to a private hospital where their condition was stated to be critical.

According to eyewitnesses, a bus, belonging to Narayana School, carrying YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) workers to the fast camp of party leader YS Jaganmohan Reddy, jumped the red signal at Morampudi Centre on the national highway and hit a car and later ploughed into the crowd of people.

Rali Venkanna and Sivaneni Mahalakshmi, a resident of Korada village near Kakinada, who were standing on the side of the road at the junction, were crushed to death. The bus then hit a motorcycle on which Inapakolla Srinivasa Rao, Vijaya Lakshmi and their son Durga Kiran, belonging to Mandapeta, were travelling. While Durga Kiran died on the spot, his parents were battling for life in a private hospital.

Later, the bus hit an electrical pole and crashed into a wall before coming to a halt. However, no one in the bus was injured. The bus driver fled the scene.

According to DSP (East Zone) Asma Farheen, the bus left Kakinada on Sunday morning and the driver tried to cross Morampudi Centre at around 12.40 pm at a high speed. The bus first rammed into a car (Toyota Etios), which was waiting for the green signal. However, Dr Buddhudu and his driver Vasant Kumar escaped unhurt. They left for their clinic in an auto-rickshaw leaving the car behind even before the police reached the spot. Vehicles snarled up for over a kilometre in traffic following accident.

Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister N Chinarajappa and Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu conveyed their condolences to the families of the accident victims.

The Home Minister said an inquiry would be conducted into the incident and promised all help from the government to the kin of those killed and those injured.

Both ministers were in Kakinada on Sunday to participate in the centenary celebrations of MSN Charities founded by non-literate educationalist Malladi Satyalingam Naicker.

1 dies in bus-auto collision
One person was killed on the spot and four others were injured when an RTC bus collided with an auto-rickshaw at Patapatnam area in Srikakulam district on Sunday.

The deceased was identified as Ramakrishna Binoya (44), an auto-rickshaw driver and resident of Parlakimidi of Odisha. The Patapatnam police said the mishap occurred when the bus collided head-on with an auto-rickshaw, resulting in the death of the auto driver.

The injured were shifted to the Patapatnam government hospital of whom two were referred to the RIMS, Srikakulam.

On receipt of information, the family members of the auto driver, along with auto union members, staged a protest on the main road alleging that the mishap occurred due to the negligence of the bus driver and demanded compensation from the RTC officials.

Vehicular traffic on the Patapatnam road was paralysed due to the protest.

The police pacified the agitators by taking the bus driver into custody. A case has been registered.