Neurosurgeon Dr K Jagadeesh Babu, 50, died after his car veered off the Hyderabad-Khammam national highway, hit a barrier near the Pillalamarri flyover in Suryapet and caught fire early on Sunday, police said. The vehicle was completely gutted in the crash, leaving the doctor unable to escape.
The accident occurred at around 7.15am on the service road near the flyover. Police said the impact was severe and the car was engulfed in flames within minutes. Local residents alerted the authorities, but the vehicle had been reduced to a burnt-out shell by the time police reached the site.
Police suspect that Dr Babu may have dozed off while driving. G Rajashekar, circle inspector, Khammam (rural), said investigators were examining whether sleep deprivation contributed to the crash. He added that the exact cause had not yet been established.
“We suspect that the driver was sleep-deprived and dozed off. He was completely burnt in the accident,” Rajashekar said. “But we are examining the circumstances that led to the crash and are collecting CCTV footage from toll plazas along the Khammam-Hyderabad route. We are also checking whether there was any technical problem with the car.”
Dr Babu worked as the head of the neurosurgery department at a private medical college and hospital in Khammam, where he had been employed for around two decades. He was travelling to Hyderabad, where his family lives, when the crash occurred.
The extent of the burns initially made it difficult for police to establish the victim’s identity. Investigators subsequently identified him as Dr Babu. His body was shifted to Suryapet Government General Hospital for postmortem and was later handed over to his family.
Police registered a road accident case under Section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Investigators are collecting CCTV footage from toll plazas and examining the vehicle for a possible technical fault as they work to determine how the car left the highway and struck the barrier.
