4 of family, 2 others perish in gory accident near Dobbspet

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, June 21, 2016, DHNS: Four members of a family were among the six killed when a car collided with a stationary truck at Kengal Kempuhalli village near Dobbspet on National Highway 4, about 35 kilometres from Bengaluru, on Monday morning.

Seven people were travelling in the sedan when the accident occurred around 6.40 am. Babugouda Siddapur, 45, a BMTC bus driver, his wife Veeramma B Siddapur, 36, son Basavanagouda Patil, 14, daughter Sushmita, 9, neighbour Nagaratnamma, 38, and the car driver, Mallappa Siddapur, 28, perished in the accident. Manikantha, a six-year-old boy, sustained grievous injuries and is battling for life at a hospital, police said.

They were returning to Bengaluru after attending the funeral of Babugouda’s mother at Gurulkatte village in Nargund taluk, Gadag district.

The group had left Bengaluru on Sunday night. The car was a hired one.

It’s unclear what exactly caused the accident. Police suspect that Mallappa must have been drowsy when he failed to spot the truck parked on the roadside. He couldn’t control the car and it crashed into the truck from behind. Five of them died on the spot while Basavanagouda succumbed to injuries in hospital, police said.

The bodies were handed over to the relatives after the post-mortem at Dobbspet. While the bodies of Babugouda and his family members were sent to their native village, Nagaratna’s was sent to Bengaluru.

Traffic on the busy highway, which connects Bengaluru with Pune, was disrupted for about two hours. Vehicles were lined for kilometres. Many travellers alighted from their vehicles and made other plans to reach Bengaluru. Traffic was restored only around 9 am, police said.