Bhubaneswar: Five police personnel were killed and three others seriously injured early Sunday morning after a speeding trailer collided with a police vehicle in Odisha’s Jharsuguda district, police said.
Jharsuguda Superintendent of Police (SP) Gundala Raghavendra Reddy said the collision occurred at dawn in front of Jharsuguda Sadar police station.
The police car was on patrol when the trailer, which was traveling at high speed from the opposite direction, collided with it. “The exact sequence of events is yet to be determined. We are interrogating the trailer driver,” the SP said.
The police identified the deceased as Armed Police Reserve personnel Kashiram Bhoi and Debadatta SA, Sub-Inspector Niranjan Kujur, Armed Police Reserve Havildar Lingaraj Durwa and Home Guard Bhaktabandhu Mirda.
Three others – two RPA personnel and a sergeant – were taken to the Jharsuguda District Headquarters Hospital.
According to accident data for 2024 issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Transport, excessive speed led to 7,269 road accidents and 3,846 deaths, while incorrect driving claimed the lives of 470 people in 1,103 accidents. Driving under the influence of alcohol and drug abuse caused the death of 317 people in 838 accidents, while using a mobile phone while driving led to the death of 235 people in 585 accidents, and jumping a red light led to the death of 35 people in 88 accidents.
Data show that 55 percent of all accidents and 56 percent of deaths in 2024 occurred on national and state highways. Two-wheelers were involved in the highest number of accidents – 5,490 accidents resulting in 3,017 deaths – followed by cars, taxis and light vehicles (1,796 accidents and 739 deaths), and trucks and lorries (1,296 accidents and 607 deaths).
Over the past decade, more than 47,000 people have died and over a lakh have been seriously injured in road accidents in Odisha. On an average, 16 people lose their lives every day on the state’s roads, placing Odisha among the states with the highest accident severity rates.
