Five friends died late Thursday night after their car collided with a parked truck on National Highway 150(A) near Tumakuruhalli Gate in Karnataka’s Chitradurga district, police said.
Police have identified the deceased as Raghavendra (40), Pramod (36), Rudresh (30), Somashekar (35) and Mallikarjuna (35), all residents of Challakere.
Deputy Inspector of Police Satyanarayana Rao said that the group was traveling from Hanagal to Challakere when the accident occurred at 9:45 pm near the Bidur-Srirangapatna stretch of the expressway in Mulakalmuru.
“The five men were traveling by car from Hanagal to Challakere around 9:45 pm on Thursday evening. The car was moving at high speed on the highway near Tumakuruhalli gate when one of its tires suddenly burst. The driver lost control of the car, which then rammed at high speed into the rear side of a truck parked on the side of the road,” the officer said.
He added that the collision led to the complete destruction of the car and the immediate death of its five passengers.
A police team from Mulakalmuru police station reached the spot after receiving information about the incident. With the help of local residents, the bodies were recovered from the dilapidated car and taken to a nearby government hospital for autopsy.
A case has been registered at Mulakalmuru police station under relevant sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. Further investigations are underway.
