Five of Ludhiana family killed in car-truck collision in Phagwara

PHAGWARA Five persons of a family, including two children, were killed when the car they were travelling in collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction on the Phagwara-Hoshiarpur highway near Khurmpura village on Sunday morning.

The deceased have been identified as Vikas Kumar, 35, his wife Shika, 30, her sister Rina, 32, along with her two children Raghav, 10, and Madhav, 8. The family belongs to Ludhiana.

All the five members died on spot while Rina’s husband Surinder Kumar, 35, and Vikas’ eight-month-old daughter Jiwika suffered severe head injuries and have been referred to Ludhiana for treatment.

They were on their way back to Ludhiana after paying obeisance at Mata Chintpurni temple in Himachal Pradesh in a Renault Kwid car (PB-10-FN2968). While crossing Khurmpura village, the car collided with a truck. An eyewitness said the truck caught fire after the accident and the driver saved his life after jumping from the moving vehicle. It took the rescue team hour to pull out bodies from the car.

Station house officer (SHO), Sadar, Lakhbir Singh said as per the preliminary investigation, it was found that the accident took place due to the truck driver’s fault, who was trying to overtake another vehicle.

He said that a case under Sections 304-A (causing death by negligence), 427 (mischief causing damage), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against the truck driver, who is yet to be identified. While Surinder owns a garments shop in Ludhiana and is only son of the family, Vikas used to run a medical shop.

The police have informed the family of victims and bodies have been sent for post-mortem.

POLICE SAID THE FAMILY WAS ON ITS WAY TO LUDHIANA AFTER PAYING OBEISANCE AT MATA CHINTPURNI TEMPLE IN HIMACHAL