Eight persons were killed and 17 others injured when a speeding lorry collided head-on with an auto trolley at Hasanpally Gate in Yellareddy mandal of Kamareddy district on Sunday evening.
According to the police, the accident took place around 5 p.m. when the ill-fated auto with 25 passengers, including the driver, was heading towards Pitlam from Yellareddy, and the rice-laden lorry was proceeding towards Yellareddy from Nizamsagar.
"Clearly, the lorry driver is at fault. He lost control of the speeding vehicle and collided with the oncoming auto," an officer said.
The impact of the accident was such that the auto driver and another passenger got sandwiched between the two vehicles. Four others died while undergoing treatment in hospitals at Yellareddy. Police used gas cutters to retrieve the bodies stuck in the mangled auto.
The victims were identified as Lacchavva (55), Yellaiah, Anjavva, auto driver Sailu (30), Eeravva (70), Laxmi (35), Sandrapalli Gangavva (45), and Sayavva.
"The condition of one passenger is critical. Others were shifted to hospitals at Yellareddy and Banswada," he said. The victims, all residents of Chillargi near Pitlam, went to Yellareddy's weekly market to buy material for the funeral of a villager and were returning. The lorry driver fled the spot.
