Seven members of two families, including four women and three children, were killed and a toddler was critically injured after an 18-wheel trailer truck hit a roadside crowd in Khunti district on Thursday night, police said. The crash took place near Kosambi Colony as residents were attempting to rescue a scooter rider who had fallen into a ditch beside a bridge.
According to police, the truck was negotiating a sharp bend at around 10 pm when its driver allegedly lost control. The vehicle ploughed into the people gathered near the roadside and then veered into another ditch. Six victims died at the scene, while another died later from injuries. The injured child, aged about one and a half years, was described by Khunti Superintendent of Police Rishabha Garg as stable but still not out of danger.
Police identified the deceased as Kashila Devi, in her mid-40s; her daughter Anjali Kumari, 19; and her grandson Saurabh Nayak, aged one. They belonged to the family of Birsa Nayak. The other victims were identified as Phagan Sanga, 26; Karmi Lohrain, 50; Subhani Kumari, 12; and Soni Kumari, eight. They were relatives of Rajesh Lohra, a migrant worker who had recently left for Gujarat in search of employment.
The truck driver and his helper fled after the crash. Garg said the driver had switched off his mobile phone and that police had contacted the vehicle owner to assist in tracing them. The police account identified the sharp turn and darkness at the location as factors involved in the incident, while the driver’s loss of control remains an allegation under investigation.
The crash triggered an extended road blockade near Karra railway gate on Friday. Angry residents blocked the road for around five hours, demanding the driver’s arrest and adequate compensation for the victims’ families. The protest highlighted the immediate concerns of residents living along routes where heavy commercial vehicles pass close to settlements and roadside activity.
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Chief Minister Hemant Soren and others condoled the deaths. Former Union minister Arjun Munda visited the affected families and said they would receive the vehicle’s insurance amount in addition to interim relief.
Munda also urged the administration to prevent heavy vehicles from using shortcut village roads that were not built to carry such traffic. The authorities’ next steps include tracing the driver and helper, pursuing the investigation and processing the stated relief and insurance support for the bereaved families.
