Chennai: A man, his wife and their 10-year-old son were killed after their bike crashed into a car near Kelambakkam on Tuesday night. Their younger son, aged 6, is in critical condition at a private hospital in Kelambakkam.
Police, who identified the victims as Haridas, 34, Suganthi, 33, and their children Leo and Jo Daniel, said all four were travelling on the same bike, with Jo on the fuel tank, and Leo and Suganthi behind Haridas.
The family, police said, was returning home to Balammal Nagar, Thaiyur village, after attending a function at their relative’s place in Kayar village. They were riding on the Kayar-Thaiyur road when they collided head-on with a speeding car coming in the opposite direction, negotiating a turn. It was about 11pm.
All four were thrown off the two-wheeler and suffered severe head injuries. Passersby who witnessed the accident alerted police and called an ambulance.
Police said Haridas and Leo died on the spot, while Suganthi and Jo were rushed to the Kelambakkam hospital, where Suganthi died the next morning. Police said Haridas worked for a private company in Siruseri.
The Kayar police registered a case of causing death due to negligence and sent the bodies to Chengalpet Govt Medical College and Hospital for postmortem. Investigations revealed that the car involved in the accident was driven by a man named Ashwin Kumar, 43, of Kayar village, who works at a footwear showroom in Kelambakkam. He was travelling with his wife Bindhu, 35, and their six-year-old son Abinesh. This family was also admitted to the Kelambakkam hospital for treatment. They sustained minor injuries, said police, who arrested Ashwin Kumar.
Meanwhile, residents claimed that the recently laid road there lacked paved shoulders, which led to frequent accidents.