Four killed as car hits roadside banyan tree

Driver dozed off at the wheel, say police

Four persons, including two women, were killed when the car in which they were travelling back home in Nizamabad from Hyderabad hit a roadside banyan tree after passing the Krishna Mandir on National Highway-44 at Jangampally under Biknoor police station limits early on Monday.

All the four identified as Manthani Lavanya (35), Susheel (28), Prashanth (26) and Roshini (14) died on the spot. While Prashanth, who was at the wheel, belonged to Navipet the remaining three were residents of Padmanagar Road No.3, Kotagally in Nizamabad city. Susheel and Prashanth were cousins. Since their bodies were stuck inside the mangled car, police retrieved them by breaking the car into parts with a gas cutter.

According to Sub-Inspector of Police A. Naveenkumar, the mishap occurred as the driver, who was too tired, dozed off. They travelled to Hyderabad to attend a function at their relatives’ house on Sunday and met with the accident while returning. A case was registered and the bodies were shifted to Government Hospital here for post-mortem examination, said SI of Police.