Autorickshaw driver dies in road accident near Salem

SALEM: An autorickshaw driver died after a private omnibus hit his vehicle from behind near Omalur on the Bengaluru-Salem National Highway on Wednesday morning. In the impact of the bus hitting the autorickshaw, the auto driver – identified as V Raja, 37, of Nehru Nagar in Omalur – fell into a 20-foot-deep roadside pit and suffered multiple injuries which caused his death a few hours later.The accident happened at Karuppur around 6am when Raja was driving his vehicle from Omalur to Salem. The bus was on its way to Salem from Bengaluru. "When the bus hit the auto from behind, Raja was thrown off the auto. He fell into a 20-foot pit," an officer at the Karuppur police station said. On being alerted, police arrived at the scene and rushed him to Salem Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College and Hospital where he died around 10am.A case was registered against the bus driver, whose identity remains unknown as he fled the scene after parking the bus on the roadside at the accident site. All the bus passengers were safe, police said.