4 dead, 2 injured as ambulance rams stationary lorry in Tirupati

TIRUPATI:Atleast four persons, including an ambulance driver, were killed and two others injured after a private ambulance hit a stationary lorry on the Urandur highway road under the Srikalahasti Rural police station limits in the early hours of Monday.

The deceased have been identified as Breja Dulai (48), Tagore Dulai (35), Jathin Dulai (55), and ambulance driver Jithesh Pandit (30), all natives of Hooghly district in West Bengal.

Srikalahasti Rural Circle Inspector Ibrahim said the ambulance had six occupants at the time of the accident, which occurred around 3:45 am. The driver, Jithesh Pandit, reportedly dozed off at the wheel, failed to apply the brakes, and rammed into a stationary lorry that had been parked on the roadside while its driver had stepped away.

“The speeding ambulance driver, who dozed off at the wheel, rammed into the lorry. Three occupants of the ambulance were killed on the spot, while another succumbed to injuries during treatment at the hospital,” he said.

Police said the ambulance, carrying six occupants including two drivers and a helper, was on its way to Astra Hospital in Bengaluru from Hooghly. It was transporting an asthma patient, Breja Dulai, who was among those killed in the accident.

The victims had started their journey at 10:30 pm on May 2 and were heading to Bengaluru when the ambulance hit the lorry on the Naidupeta–Tirupati National Highway.

The bodies have been shifted to the mortuary at Srikalahasti Government Hospital, while the two injured are undergoing treatment at the same hospital. Police said a case will be registered.