Bokaro: At least five persons were killed and more than 20 others sustained injuries after a coal-laden truck first struck a motorcycle and then ploughed into several vehicles at Isri Bazar under Dumri block in Giridih district on Friday, police said.
Victims Identified
The deceased were identified as Kari Irshad (46), Sujit (37), Tehal Sao (58), and Santosh Mahto (31), while one victim remains unidentified. The injured were initially taken to the Referral Hospital in Jamtara, with seven later transferred to a Dhanbad hospital.
Sequence of Events
Witnesses reported that the truck, coming from Bagodar, first hit a motorcycle near the Kulgo toll plaza and then sped towards Isri. Just before the Isri bridge, it struck another motorcycle and a pickup vehicle. It then mowed down several vehicles, including two cars parked along the roadside, before smashing through a boundary wall, hitting an electric pole, and crashing into the wall of a closed petrol pump. The impact threw several people a considerable distance. In total, around 13 vehicles, including motorcycles and cars, were damaged.
Rescue and Investigation
Locals described the horrifying accident as one that “will never be forgotten.” The truck driver fled the scene but was later arrested and is being interrogated. Rescue operations continued till early Saturday. Giridih Deputy Commissioner Ramniwas Yadav and Superintendent of Police Bimal Kumar supervised the relief work. Two cranes and two excavator machines were deployed to extricate the 16-wheel truck. “An investigation has been ordered into how the truck entered such a crowded market area,” the SP said.
Second Accident
In another accident on Saturday morning, the driver of a speeding bus lost control on the Pachamba-Jamua road at Pariyan in Giridih and rammed into a roadside hotel, critically injuring the owner’s wife and another person.
