Patna, Oct 28 — At least four people, including a woman and her eight-month-old baby, were killed in a collision between a speeding truck and an auto-rickshaw on NH-722 near Pahadpur village under the Garkha police station limits in Bihar’s Saran district.
The high-impact crash, which occurred late Tuesday night, completely mangled the auto-rickshaw, trapping passengers inside and triggering chaotic scenes as local residents rushed to render aid.
Hearing the screams of trapped victims, onlookers alerted local authorities and initiated initial rescue efforts.
Teams from the Garkha police station and a 'Dial 112' emergency unit arrived shortly after.
Due to the severe structural deformation of the auto-rickshaw, rescue personnel had to employ gas cutters to cut through the metal frame and extricate the trapped individuals.
All victims were rushed to Shrinivas Medical College, where four were pronounced dead, and others were admitted for urgent medical care.
The deceased have been identified as Annu Kumari (28) and her eight-month-old son, Riyansh Kumar. Annu’s husband, Vishal Kumar, suffered critical injuries and remains under intensive care in the ICU.
A relative, Rahul Kumar, revealed that the family was returning home from Punjab after attending a wedding ceremony when the speeding truck struck their vehicle, turning a celebratory trip into tragedy.
The crash also claimed the lives of cousins Ashish Kumar alias Jeetu (25) and Aman Kumar (20).
The auto-rickshaw driver and his brother were also injured in the collision.
The incident has plunged multiple households into deep mourning. Police have launched an investigation to track down the driver of the speeding truck and establish the exact sequence of events leading to the fatal crash.
The district police had informed the family members of the deceased following the fatal accident.
They have recovered the bodies and sent them to Chappra Sadar Hospital for post-mortem examinations. The post-mortem will be conducted in the presence of the family members of the deceased.