Woman, son die as SUV crashes into tree

Patna: A woman and her son were killed, while eight other family members were injured after a speeding SUV crashed into a roadside tree on the Patna-Bakhtiyarpur four-lane road on Tuesday morning.The family was returning to Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh after offering prayers at Baidyanath Dham in Deoghar when the accident took place near a hotel under Bakhtiyarpur police station in Patna’s Barh subdivision.The victims were identified as Phulmati Devi (52) and her son Upendra Singh (34). Among the injured were Upendra’s wife and two children, along with other relatives travelling in the vehicle. The driver also sustained injuries.The impact of the crash was severe, prompting locals to rush to the spot after hearing a loud noise. They rescued passengers trapped inside the badly damaged vehicle and informed the police.Bakhtiyarpur police reached the spot and, with the help of residents, shifted the injured to the community health centre in Bakhtiyarpur. After first aid, all the injured were referred to Nalanda Medical College and Hospital in Patna for treatment.Bakhtiyarpur police station incharge Devanand Sharma said, “The bodies have been sent to the subdivisional hospital in Barh for post-mortem examination. The forensic team was called at the spot. The injured have been sent to Patna for better treatment,” he said.Sharma added, “A total of eight people were travelling in an SUV from Deoghar to Kushinagar. All were residents of Kushinagar. The incident took place around 4am on the four-lane road in Patna. It is suspected that the driver dozed off and lost control of the vehicle. The car veered off the road and rammed into the divider and then a tree, causing extensive damage and trapping occupants inside.”