Two youths were killed as a speeding truck collided head-on with a car at National Highway near Chitood, about 7 kilometres away from the district headquarters, police said on Wednesday. It took hours to retrieve the bodies from the damaged car.
Infuriated villagers staged a protest on the accident spot against the increasing number of accidents in the district and demanded to control the situation. The protesters blocked the highway and did not allow any vehicle to pass through. It was a hard time for the police team to pacify the protesters. The commuters had to wait for long till the mega road blockade was called off.
According to the police, Navin Shindey, a resident of Maratapara, was on his way to Kanker with his friend Amit in his car bearing registration number CG 05 R 6707.
As the two reached near Chitood, a rashly driven truck bearing registration number CG 10 C 0161, coming from the opposite direction collided head-on with the car. The car got badly damaged in the accident. The injured youths got struck in the car and died. Meanwhile the truck driver fled from the spot immediately.
The police took hours to pull the body out of the car. The duo was taken to the Maseh Hospital where the doctors declared them brought dead.
One of the eye witnesses told the police that their eyes bulged out when they saw the truck colliding head-on with the car. The car rolled like a toy on the road. The duos were badly struck in the car and the one who was on the driver seat was badly struck on the steering.
Police have booked the errant driver under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and further investigation is in progress.