Bhabhua/Patna: A tragic road accident on National Highway 19 near Chhajjupur Pond in the Durgawati police station area claimed three lives and left seven critically injured early Thursday morning.
The accident occurred around 4.30am when a Scorpio SUV carrying residents of Sasaram’s Tirkulia area rammed into a stationary container truck. Eyewitnesses said the driver appeared to have fallen asleep at the wheel, causing the vehicle to lose control and crash with such force that its front was completely destroyed.
The dead have been identified as Pahla Muslim Ansari (45), a resident of Jharkhand, and Munna Ansari (45) and Razia Khatoon (60), both from Rohtas district. The injured include women and children, among them Umar Ansari (70), Fatima (15), Hajra Khatoon (40), Ashraf Ansari (30), Amir Ansari (12), Naseem Ansari (45) and Muskan Parveen (42).
Local police, NHAI patrol teams and residents rushed to the scene, with the injured first taken to Durgawati Community Health Centre. Two were later referred to Mohania Sub-Divisional Hospital, while others were shifted to Sadar Hospital, Bhabua, and the Varanasi Trauma Centre for advanced treatment.
“Three people, including a woman, died in this incident. The remaining seven are injured and are undergoing treatment,” sub-inspector Krishna Kumar Pandit of Durgawati police station said. Station house officer Girish Kumar confirmed that speeding and possible driver fatigue were being investigated as causes.
The accident caused traffic disruption on the busy NH-19 for several hours, before normalcy was restored. Relatives of the victims from Sasaram and Rohtas rushed to hospitals, while grief spread through their home villages.
