HOSAPETE (VIJAYANAGARA): A speeding lorry collided with a toll booth at Thimmalapura toll plaza on National Highway 50, near Mariammanahalli, on Wednesday evening. The identity of the deceased driver remains unknown.
The lorry, traveling from Maharashtra towards Chitradurga, crashed into the toll booth before striking a stationary pickup truck loaded with pomegranates, causing it to overturn.

The impact was so severe that the tarpaulin covering the lorry’s cargo fell, trapping the driver beneath it, resulting in his death. The co-driver sustained serious injuries, according to police reports.
The collision caused pomegranate boxes from the pickup truck to scatter across the road, prompting bystanders to gather the fallen fruit. Police arrived promptly at the scene, controlled the crowd, and rescued those trapped under the fallen cargo.