Four people, including a woman and her nine-month-old daughter, were killed and two others were seriously injured after a speeding vehicle rammed into an autorickshaw on NH-722 in Bihar’s Saran district late on Tuesday night. The collision took place near Paharpur village in the jurisdiction of Garkha police station, with police saying the driver of the offending vehicle fled the scene.
The deceased were identified as Ashish Kumar alias Jeetu, 24, who was driving the autorickshaw, his maternal cousin Aman Kumar, 20, Anu Kumari, 26, and Anu’s nine-month-old daughter. Ashish and Aman were residents of Katra Baradari in Chhapra town, while Anu was from Pure Chhapra village under Parsa police station.
According to police, Ashish was transporting passengers from Chhapra railway station towards Sonho when an unidentified vehicle struck the autorickshaw near Matkhaoua on the national highway. The force of the impact mangled the three-wheeler and trapped some of its occupants inside.
Local residents reached the spot after the crash and helped rescue the victims. The injured included Anu’s husband, Vishal Kumar, and another girl. Both were taken to a hospital and were undergoing treatment for serious injuries, according to the report.
Police said two of the victims were declared dead at the hospital shortly after the accident. Anu Kumari and her infant daughter later succumbed to their injuries during treatment. The sequence of deaths meant that all four people identified as victims in the collision eventually died.
The crash highlights the risks faced by passengers using autorickshaws on highway routes, where a collision involving a heavier or faster-moving vehicle can leave three-wheelers severely damaged. In this case, the autorickshaw was carrying passengers on a route connecting Chhapra railway station with Sonho when it was hit near a village stretch of NH-722.
Garkha police station SHO Subhash Kumar Singh said investigators were attempting to identify the vehicle and locate its driver. “Police are trying to identify the vehicle and its driver. Further investigation is underway,” Singh said. The investigation will determine how the collision occurred and establish the identity of the vehicle involved.
