Overspeeding by the car driver and the illegal parking of the goods lorry on National Highway 66 have emerged primary factors behind the accident that killed eight students at Panambikkunnu in Kaipamangalam, Thrissur, late Friday night, according to preliminary findings by the police and Motor Vehicles Department.

The accident occurred around 11.40 pm when a Tamil Nadu-registered Kia car (TN 59 DW 8299) rammed into the rear of a Maharashtra-registered goods lorry (MH 43 CE 3671) parked on the highway. The car was carrying eight students from PSNA College of Engineering and Technology in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu.

Kodungalloor DySP R Ratheesh told Onmanorama that two of the three lanes on the stretch of NH 66 were closed, with traffic diverted through the remaining lane. The lorry was parked on one of the closed lanes, he said. According to the DySP, the car was travelling at high speed, and the driver could not spot the lorry from a distance due to inadequate lighting and the absence of reflectors in the area.

Kodungalloor Joint RTO Kishore Kumar said the lorry was parked illegally on the extreme right side of the highway, blocking the diversion as well as the road markings indicating the turn.

“The position of the lorry may have prevented the car driver from noticing the diversion,” Kishore Kumar said. He said the preliminary inspection established that the lorry was parked in a spot where parking was not permitted. A detailed inspection of the accident site would be conducted by a Motor Vehicles Department team soon, he said.

According to the Irinjalakuda Fire and Rescue Services, they received the call around 11.48 pm. When the team reached the spot, the car was found jammed into the rear of the lorry. Passersby and local residents had already shifted six of the injured to nearby hospitals, a fire and rescue officer said. Two others, including the driver, were trapped inside the mangled car. The fire force personnel used hydraulic cutters and spreaders to cut open the vehicle and rescue them.

All eight occupants were declared dead at the Thrissur MCH. The deceased were identified as Vishwa (20), a native of Salem; Surya (20), Joshua (20) and Yuvasanjith (20), natives of Dindigul; Santhosh (20) and Prasanna, natives of Madurai; and Jeeva and Murali Krishna.

The autopsies have been completed, said Kaipamangalam MLA K K Valsaraj. Six bodies have been handed over to their relatives, while the families of the remaining two are on their way to the hospital. 

A case has been registered at Kaipamangalam police station against the driver of the lorry under section 105 (culpable homicide that does not amount to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). While District Police Chief (Rural) Mohammed Nadeemudheen inspected the accident site, District Collector Shika Surendran reached the medical college hospital and monitored the arrangements.