Less than an hour after they celebrated Tollywood actor Pawan Kalyan’s birthday, five youngsters were killed when a sand-laden lorry collided with a sedan car they were travelling in Telangana’s Warangal district in the wee hours of Wednesday.
The victims were going to Mulugu, about 50 km from Warangal town, to drop-off one of them after cutting a cake and celebrating the Jana Sena Party chief’s birthday.
A speeding sand-laden lorry on its way to Hyderabad from Kaleshwaram hit the car from the opposite direction, as a result, five people occupied in the ill-fated car died on the spot.
The accident took place between 1 a.m. and 1.30 a.m. at Pasaragonda Crossroad in Damera Mandal, according to police.
The victims were identified as Mekala Rakesh from Warangal, Kande Jayaprakash of Hanomakonda, Medichandu Rohit, Naresh and Sabir, all aged around 25 years. Jayaprakesh was behind the wheel.
Speaking to The Hindu, Damera Sub-Inspector Bhaskar Reddy said that both lorry driver and Jayaprakash lost control over the wheels and collided head-on.
“Jayaprakash and his friends left Warangal town around 12.30 a.m. They were going toward Mulugu to drop Naresh,” he said.
The bodies were shifted to MGM Hospital, Warangal, for autopsy after they were retrieved from the mangled car.
A case was registered against the lorry driver and a probe is on.
