Tamil Nadu: A man and his 2-year-old grandson died in a freak road accident.

Chennai: A 55-year-old man and his two-year-old grandson were killed in a bizarre road accident near Padappai. The side wall of a lorry coming from the opposite direction reportedly broke and collided with an autorickshaw. Three others, including the autorickshaw driver, were seriously injured in the accident. The deceased were identified as Kanniappan (55), a resident of Manimangalam near Padappai, and his grandson, Melvin. On Tuesday night, Kanniappan, along with his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson, were traveling from their home in Manimangalam to a relative’s house in Mudichur. As the autorickshaw was traveling on Manimangalam Main Road, a mini-lorry loaded with bricks was coming from the opposite direction at high speed. Suddenly, the 15-foot-long side wall of the mini-lorry broke and fell directly on the autorickshaw, crushing it. Kanniappan and his grandson, Melvin, sustained serious injuries and died on the spot. The auto driver, Loganathan (35), and Kanniappan’s son and daughter-in-law sustained serious injuries. Upon receiving information, the Guduvancheri Traffic Investigation Police arrived at the scene and rescued the injured, who were admitted to the Tambaram Government Hospital for treatment. The bodies of the deceased were also sent to the same hospital for postmortem. Police stated that the mini-lorry driver fled the scene, abandoning the vehicle. Initial investigations revealed that the accident occurred due to the lorry driver’s negligence. The side doors of mini-lorries are secured with iron clamps at four points and must be checked properly before driving. It is suspected that the driver failed to secure the clamps properly, and the vibrations caused by the high-speed driving caused the door to loosen and fall, leading to the tragic accident. Police have registered a case and are searching for the lorry driver.