PHAGWARA: A tragic road accident near the village of Chhichhowal on the Phillaur-Nawanshahr highway claimed the lives of three women and left four others, including a child, seriously injured on Wednesday. The collision occurred between an autorickshaw and a speeding Xylo car, reportedly coming from the wrong side of the road.
According to eyewitnesses and the injured autorickshaw driver, Nirmal Singh, he was transporting passengers from the village of Jhandapeer to Phillaur when the incident occurred. As he approached Chhichhowal, a high-speed Xylo car coming from the Phillaur side allegedly veered into the wrong lane and struck the autorickshaw head-on. The impact was so severe that the autorickshaw was completely mangled, and its passengers were thrown about violently.
Local social worker Matvinder Singh Sonu, who was following the autorickshaw in his vehicle, immediately rushed the injured to the Civil Hospital in Phillaur. However, doctors at the facility declared three women brought dead.The deceased have been identified as:Rakhi, wife of Amar Chand, Sunita, wife of Baljinder Kumar and Manjit Kaur, wife of Kamaljeet Singh.
All three women were residents of Kadiana village. Disturbingly, the victims included a mother-in-law and her two daughters-in-law from the same family, highlighting the tragic scale of the incident.The injured include
Nirmal Singh (autorickshaw driver), Ranjit Kaur, Mukhtiar Singh and Amar Chand were admitted in Phillaur civil hspital.
A young girl named Pari, who sustained a fractured leg and was referred to a private hospital in Jalandhar due to the severity of her injuries.
One woman from the same group, also a resident of Kadiana village, narrowly escaped death as she had alighted from the autorickshaw just moments before the collision.
Speaking on the incident, the autorickshaw driver recounted, “I was driving in my own lane when the Xylo came speeding from the opposite direction and hit us directly. I had no time to react. The vehicle was completely out of control.”
An eyewitness at the scene added, “The collision was brutal. The autorickshaw was overloaded, and the impact from the front left little chance for survival for those seated inside. Some passengers stopped breathing on the spot.”
Following the accident, police arrived at the scene and took the bodies into custody for post-mortem examination. Cops are investigating the cause and booked the car driver for reckless and negligent driving.