6 killed, 16 injured as speeding truck rams another on Eastern Peripheral Expressway
The incident happened when two mini trucks were parked on the side of Muradnagar stretch of EPE around 1.15am
Ghaziabad: Six people, including a three-year-old girl, were killed and 16 others suffered major injuries after an allegedly speeding truck hit two stationary mini trucks on the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) in Ghaziabad late on Saturday night, police said, adding that the victims were brick kiln workers and their family members.
The incident happened when two mini trucks were parked on the side of Muradnagar stretch of EPE around 1.15am. The mini trucks left Ganaur in Sonipat, Haryana, around 11.30pm on Saturday and were ferrying people to Hardoi and Shahjahanpur in UP, police said. While one truck carried 35 people, the second one carried 40. Police said the speeding truck hit one of the parked vehicles while brushing past the second one parked at a distance. The first truck was hit severely and overturned.
Additional deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Virendra Kumar, said that the erring truck bore a Punjab registration number and was seized.
“We found that the drivers of the mini trucks stopped their vehicles on EPE to take a break. The speeding truck hit one of the stationary trucks. Four people died on the spot while 18 injured were rushed to hospitals in Ghaziabad, after which two people died during treatment. Later, nine of the injured were referred to GTB hospital in Delhi,” the officer added. DCP (rural), Vivek Chandra Yadav, were brick kiln workers who were getting ferried to their native places in Hardoi and Shahjahanpur.
“We are analysing CCTVs on the EPE to find out the reason behind the incident. The erring truck driver has been identified but no complaint has been received so far from the injured,” he added.
Police identified the four people, who died on the spot, as Maya Devi, 40, Mohammad Irshad, 20, Najuman (single name), 60, and Shabeena (single name), 21. On Sunday evening, two others — Chinnu (single name), 30, and Falak (single name), 3, succumbed during treatment at GTB hospital.
One of the injured people said he heard a loud noise and the people on board were thrown off the truck. “We were with our families and were carrying household items. Suddenly, we were thrown out of the truck. Some of us became unconscious,” said Shaad Mohammad, 28, one of the injured. “Our colleagues in the second truck helped us and called the police,” added Mohammad.
Khushnuma (single name), 22, another injured person at the Sanjay Nagar Hospital, suffered a leg fracture.
“We were working at a kiln in Ganaur for seven months but were not paid. We were promised ₹440 per day. We sought the police’s help. The kiln owner then paid us only half the money and decided to ferry us to our native villages, which is when the accident happened,” Khushnuma said.
Khushnuma (single name), 22, another injured person at the Sanjay Nagar Hospital, suffered a leg fracture. “We were working at a kiln in Ganaur for seven months but were not paid. We were promised ₹440 per day. We sought the police’s help. The kiln owner then paid us only half the money and decided to ferry us to our native villages, which is when the accident happened,” Khushnuma said.
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