Eight school students, including four girls, injured in lorry-autorickshaw collision in Visakhapatnam

8 students, including 4 girls, injured in Visakhapatnam after auto-rickshaw collides with lorry. 14-yr-old girl has severe head injuries. Negligent & rash driving of auto-driver led to accident. Locals rushed to help & police shifted students to hospital. DCP appeals to parents to check auto-drivers & send kids to school early. 3 students injured in another auto-accident.

Eight school students, including four girls, were injured after the autorickshaw in which they were travelling collided with a lorry near Sangham-Sarat Theatre Junction in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.

Among the students, a 14-year-old girl has sustained severe head injuries and her condition is said to be serious. The police said negligent and rash driving of the autorickshaw driver has led to the accident.

The incident occurred at around 7.40 a.m. when the autorickshaw was heading from Dondaparthy to a private school at Ram Nagar. While crossing the four-road junction, a speeding lorry which was heading towards RTC Complex route from Railway Station Road hit the autorickshaw. Several students, including a girl, flew out of the vehicle due to the impact, as the three-wheeler overturned.

Locals rushed to the spot and helped the injured children. While the lorry cleaner was caught, the driver escaped from the spot. The autorickshaw driver has also received very minor injuries. Both the traffic and law & order police with the help of locals shifted the students to a private hospital at Ram Nagar.

Bhavesh, a Class VII student, said that he boarded the autorickshaw at around 7.30 a.m. and sat beside the driver. He said that a speeding lorry had hit them all of a sudden and he flew out of the vehicle. Some people picked me up and comforted me, he said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone I) K. Srinivasa Rao, Additional DCP (Traffic) G. Srinivasa Rao, ACP (Dwaraka Zone) R.V.S.N. Murthy and III Town Police Station Inspector K. Rama Rao visited the hospital and spoke with the injured children.

Speaking to The Hindu, DCP K. Srinivasa Rao said that among the eight students, three were discharged after administering first-aid. “As per the doctors, of the five being treated in the hospital, four are out of danger. We have spoken to the hospital authorities and asked them to provide all medical help,” he said.