A man was killed and 15 others were injured after a speeding dumper truck rammed into a parked tourist minibus on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Rajasthan's Kota district early Wednesday, just hours before Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari's scheduled inspection of the expressway.
The accident occurred near the Jaalimpura Interchange in Sultanpur police station limits at around 3:50 am, Station House Officer Daulat Kumar Sahu said.
Dumper Crashes Into Parked Bus
According to police, the tourist minibus, which was travelling from Kota to Delhi, had stopped near the interchange when a dumper truck crashed into it from behind. The impact severely damaged the rear portion of the vehicle, triggering panic among the passengers.
Fifty-year-old Charan Singh, a resident of Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh, died on the spot. His body has been kept at the Sultanpur Hospital mortuary.
All 15 injured passengers were rushed to Sultanpur Hospital. Five of them, who sustained serious injuries, were later referred to a hospital in Kota for advanced treatment.
Police said around 30 passengers were travelling in the minibus. They were reportedly employees of the Delhi Jal Board and were returning to Delhi after offering prayers at the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain.
The injured include Kalpana Singh Bhandari, Guddi Jatav, Ombeer and Usha Singh, among others.
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Driver Absconding
Police and ambulances from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) reached the spot soon after receiving information about the accident and launched rescue operations.
The dumper truck has been seized, while its driver fled the scene after the crash. Police have launched a search to trace and arrest him.
The accident, which occurred shortly before Union Minister Nitin Gadkari's inspection of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, has once again raised concerns over speeding heavy vehicles, road safety and emergency response systems on the high-speed corridor.