A man injured in the Kottayam crash at Mundakayam died while receiving treatment, taking the accident’s death toll to one. Police said the high-speed car hit seven vehicles on the national highway at Chotti Kavala, injuring 14 people, including the victim’s grandchildren.
The deceased was Rajan of Illikkulathu, Panakkachira. He had been undergoing treatment at Kottayam Medical College Hospital after being struck by the car during the crash, which took place at about 8.15am on November 1.
According to police, Shalom, 27, a resident of Kuttikkal, was driving the car at high speed when it collided with the vehicles. Police said he acted with the intention of killing himself. The crash also injured 13 other people, although the report did not provide details about the severity of their injuries or their current medical condition.
Shalom has been arrested and is in remand, police said. The arrest places the case within the criminal investigation process, while the circumstances leading to the crash and the sequence of collisions remain part of the police inquiry.
The incident occurred on the national highway at Chotti Kavala in Mundakayam, an area where traffic movement includes private vehicles and other road users travelling through Kottayam district. The involvement of seven vehicles turned what police described as an intentional high-speed impact into a multi-vehicle crash, exposing several people in the surrounding traffic environment to risk.
The death followed more than a week after the accident. Rajan’s grandchildren were among those injured, according to the police account cited in the report. The report did not identify the other injured people or state whether they were occupants of the vehicles struck by the car, pedestrians or other road users.
Police have not released further details in the supplied report about the vehicle, the exact sequence of impacts, any charges filed beyond the arrest, or the next stage of the investigation. Shalom remains in remand as the authorities proceed with the case.
