Dharmapuri accident: Truck driver arrested

DHARMAPURI: Hours after the complete mayhem on Thoppur ghat road on Salem-Bengaluru National Highway, where a speeding container truck crashed into 12 cars, a minivan, a truck and a bike, killing four and injuring seven others, police arrested the truck driver in the early hours of Sunday.
The Thoppur police identified the accused as Qutbuddin, 32, of Jharkhand. A police officer said the driver was hiding in a nearby forest, fearing arrest.
Pravesh Kumar, district superintendent of police, said they were questioning the truck driver to know what caused the accident.“We don’t know whether he had dozed off at the wheel. He was driving fast and it Sseems he had lost control over the vehicle.”
He said transport department officials were checking the truck for a possible brake failure. Pointing out that the stretch has sharp curves and inclines, Kumar said some drivers were in the habit of driving the vehicles on neutral mode to save fuel. “It is difficult to control a vehicle when driven on neutral mode. There is also a possibility that the truck might have been on neutral mode when the incident occurred.”
The SP said while the driver was speeding the truck, he hadn’t crossed the speed limits as the truck was equipped with speed governor.
The Thoppur police, meanwhile, took the driver to the Dharmapuri government medical college and hospital for Covid-19 testing. “We will lodge him in the Salem Central Prison after getting the test report,” a police officer said.