Rainwater stagnating on a national highway has once again resulted in a road accident near Tirunelveli, killing three persons and seriously injuring five others. The incident took place on the night of Wednesday, July 5, 2023, on NH 44, the Kanniyakumari-Tirunelveli national highway.
Police said the incident took place after a wedding. Relatives of a bride from Sangu Muththamman Street in Ramayanpatti, had dropped her off at the groom’s house in Muthalaikkulam near Nanguneri and were going back home in two vehicles. When they were crossing Ponnakudi around 11 p.m., one of the two cars, a multi-utility vehicle, skidded off the road and turned turtle as it had gone over, at high speed, a pool of stagnant rainwater on the four-lane national highway. As the vehicle continued to move for about 50 feet even after it flipped over, Saami Durai, 38, of Ramayanpatti, and Praveen, 19, of the same area, who was behind the wheel, were killed on the spot while six others sustained serious injuries.
While the injured were rushed to the Government Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital for treatment, the bodies of Saami Durai and Naveen were sent for post-mortem examinations. The death toll in the mishap rose to three on Thursday morning as Lakshmanan, 40, who was undergoing treatment at the hospital, succumbed to injuries.
Police said the stagnant rainwater on the national highway was the reason for accident. “We have been repeatedly telling the people in-charge of the Nanguneri tollgate to address the issue of water stagnation on the highway since there have been similar accidents before,” said a senior police officer.
