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A tragic road accident near Bengaluru on Saturday claimed the lives of six members of a family, sparking a debate over the effectiveness of safe cars on unsafe roads. The family was traveling in a Volvo SUV when a container truck overturned, crushing the vehicle and leaving no survivors.
The accident occurred on National Highway 48 near Nelamangala on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
A preliminary police investigation has reconstructed the events that led to the tragic accident that claimed six lives. An Eicher truck, loaded with aluminum pillars weighing several tonnes, was heading towards Bengaluru when the driver lost control while trying to avoid a collision with another vehicle.
Traveling at high speed, the truck swerved, crossed the median and overturned onto a Volvo car heading towards Tumakuru. The impact was devastating, leaving the Volvo severely damaged and resulting in fatalities. The truck also hit a tempo before stopping, but the tempo only suffered minor damage.
A nearby CCTV camera captured the horrific moment the truck crushed the Volvo. Police are analyzing the footage as part of their ongoing investigation into the incident.
The victims of the tragic accident have been identified as Chandrayagappa Gaul (48), his wife Gaurabai (42) and their relatives Vijayalakshmi (36), John (16), Deeksha (12) and Arya (6). The family was traveling to Vijayapura when the incident occurred.
Chandram Yegapagol, CEO and CEO of IAST Software Solutions, was a well-known personality in the tech industry in Bengaluru. A resident of HSR Layout, he originally hailed from Morbagi village in Sangli district of Maharashtra.
Yegapagol had an impressive educational background: He had a diploma in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from GPT Gulbarga, followed by a Bachelor of Engineering in the same field from the prestigious National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK) Surathkal, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Eyewitnesses reported that the truck driver, Arif, lost control of the vehicle while trying to avoid a car that suddenly stopped in front of him. The truck then jumped the divider and collided with the Volvo SUV.
The family was traveling to Vijayapura when the tragedy occurred. According to a police officer, the truck landed on top of the car, which was severely crushed and the victims’ bodies were dismembered.
The accident has sparked intense debate on social media about road safety, with many users emphasizing that even the safest vehicles cannot prevent deaths if other drivers behave recklessly.
DriveSmart, a social media account dedicated to promoting road safety, shared alarming images from the accident site where a Volvo SUV was crushed by a container truck, resulting in the deaths of six people.
Handle security (sic)
In response to the post, some users pointed out that while Volvo is known for producing safe vehicles, no car can withstand the immense force of a container truck loaded with aluminum.
Others tagged Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari urging the government to enforce stricter rules and regulations to improve road safety, emphasizing the need for stronger measures to prevent such catastrophic accidents in the future.
During a recent debate on road safety in Parliament, Union Minister Gadkari admitted that the number of accidents has increased significantly. “Forget about reducing the number of accidents, I have no hesitation in admitting that they have increased. This is one area where our department has not achieved success,” Gadkari noted during the winter session of Parliament.
He also expressed frustration at the lack of fear of the law, despite the high number of fatalities in traffic accidents. “Some don’t wear helmets, others jump the red signal,” he said during question time, describing the “strange” situation.
The union minister highlighted that improper parking of trucks on roads contributes significantly to accidents and noted that many trucks do not respect lane discipline.
Government data reveals that more than 1.78 lakh people lost their lives in road accidents in India last year, accounting for an average of around 470 deaths every day. A large proportion of the victims are in the age group of 18 to 34 years.
