BENGALURU: A woman and a child were burnt alive in their car after it crossed the road median and caught fire on NICE Road near Sompura on the outskirts of the city. The father and another daughter suffered injuries in the incident, but the daughter too died without responding to treatment in hospital. The father is being treated at the hospital.
The speeding Tata Nexon SUV hit the barrier rails along the median and caught fire. Sindhu (31) and her daughter Kushavi (2) were burnt alive in the car while the other injured daughter Pranavi (6) succumbed at hospital. The father Mahendran could only manage to pull out Pranavi and could not rescue the other two. The family was driving from Mysuru Road towards Kanakapura when the incident occurred. Mahendran is being treated at Santhosh Hospital in Uttarahalli.
A truck coming from Talaghattapura towards Mysuru Road also overturned in a bid to avoid hitting the SUV. The truck driver Bharati Rajan too sustained injured while the truck suffered serious damage.
Police suspect that an accident may have occurred as Mahendran may have been drowsy at the wheel. Senior officials are investigating this angle and have shifted the burnt car to Talaghattapura traffic police station. South Division DCP Shivaprakash Devaraj inspected the site.
Speaking to the media, DCP Shivprakash Devaraj said that the incident took place on early on Tuesday morning. Mahendran was driving the Tata Nexon car and they were going from Mysuru Road towards Kanakapura when he lost control near Sompura junction, jumped to the opposite road and overturned. The mother and child were burnt alive in the car while another child died in the incident. The accident may have occurred due to excessive speeding or a water bottle in the car getting stuck near the brake pedal, the DCP said.
Further, the DCP said the family members were on their way home to Ramamurthy Nagar after collecting rent from their Sarjapur house. They went to the IKEA furniture showroom on Tumakuru Road on Monday, went out on night drive and had dinner. They left after dinner from Tumakuru Road via Sarjapara Road to reach Ramamurthy Nagar.