Jamshedpur: Speeding pickup van flips over, seven injured

Mail News Service

Saraikela, July 9: A speeding pickup van carrying 12 passengers, overturned near the guest house along the Saraikela-Kandra Main Road under Saraikela police station at 1:30 pm. Wails and shouts of the van’s passengers attracted locals and wayfarers who immediately got into the rescue act. Seven among the 12 passengers were injured. On being informed, a team from the Saraikela PS along with RAF personnel arrived at the spot and with the help of local people took the injured to the hospital for treatment.

After preliminary treatment the critically injured passengers Kusho Nayak, Kiran Nayak, and Poonam Nayak were referred to the MGM Hospital in Jamshedpur while the others including Sudarshan Gagrai, Muskan Nayak, Upendra Nayak, and Sudhir Khandait were undergoing treatment at the hospital.

According to reports, the pickup van, which was traveling from Hatgamharia in West Singhbhum to Chandil, was carrying passengers who were going to attending a wedding ceremony.

Thhe reports added that suddenly a goat appeared on to the road near the Guest House and in an attempt to save the goat, the driver swerved the vehicle that resulted in a collision with another vehicle coming from the opposite direction that caused the van to overturn. The police have started an investigation to ascertain the cause of the accident.

Accidents of overloaded passenger vans and trucks on the rise

Saraikela, July 9: Utter disregard of Deputy Commissioner strict orders issued during the district level Road safety Committee meeting on June 27 last, no tangible action has been taken to curb the incidences of road accidents especially involving overloaded passenger carrying pickup vans and trucks. As a result the accident graph continued to be on the rise.

A local resident said, “Passengers are being herded like animals into such vans and trucks caring two hoots for administrative orders on overloading. If the police had implemented the DC’s orders to take strict legal action against such offenders, such accidents like the one today (Sunday) would not have happened.” It may be mentioned that the Saraikela-Kharsawan Deputy Commissioner had given strict instructions for taking strict legal action against vehicle operators in the areas of Adityapur-Gamharia Bazaar, Saraikela-Kandra, and Saraikela-Chaibasa main roads where illegal parking of large vehicles were causing accidents. Additionally, a campaign against vehicles involved in over-speeding, overloading and carrying protruding iron rods, poles and other such objects was ordered to ensure strict enforcement of the directives. But thus far, the effect of the orders was nowhere evident.