Bokaro: At least five persons were killed and over 20 injured after a coal-laden truck first hit a motorcycle and then plowed into several vehicles at Isri Bazar under Dumri block in Giridih district on Friday, police said.The deceased were identified as Kari Irshad, 46, Sujit, 37, Tehal Sao, 58, and Santosh Mahto, 31, while one is yet to be identified.Witnesses said the truck, coming from Bagodar, first hit a motorcycle near Kulgo toll plaza and then sped towards Isri. Just before the Isri bridge, it struck another motorcycle and a pickup vehicle. It then mowed down several vehicles, including two cars parked along the roadside, before smashing through a boundary wall, hitting an electric pole and crashing into the wall of a closed petrol pump. The impact of the collision led to several people being thrown a considerable distance. In all, around 13 vehicles, including motorcycles and cars, were damaged.Locals said the horrifying accident “will never be forgotten”. The truck driver fled from the spot after the accident. Police later said that he was arrested and was being interrogated.The injured were first taken to the Referral Hospital at Jamtara, with seven later shifted to a Dhanbad hospital.Rescue operations continued till early Saturday. Giridih deputy commissioner Ramniwas Yadav and SP Bimal Kumar supervised relief work. Two cranes and two excavator machines were deployed to extricate the 16-wheel truck.“An investigation has been ordered into how the truck entered such a crowded market area,” the SP said.In another accident on Saturday morning, the driver of a speeding bus lost control on the Pachamba-Jamua road at Pariyan in Giridih and rammed into a roadside hotel, critically injuring the owner’s wife and another person.
