Kolar: Four persons from Pune heading to Tirupati died after their SUV rammed a divider in Bangarpet taluk on Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway on Thursday morning. The lone survivor is undergoing treatment at a private hospital here.Police said the accident occurred when the driver lost control while negotiating a curve near Maragal village. The vehicle hit the divider, overturned and was dragged for more than 200 metres. Three occupants died instantly, while another succumbed to injuries at a hospital.Expressway, opened to the public in March 2025, has witnessed more than a dozen major accidents on the stretch between Kolathur, near Hoskote, and Bethamangala in Kolar district, claiming nearly 30 lives. This has prompted police to issue directives against overspeeding and reckless driving.Police suspect fatigue of long-distance driving — from Pune to Tirupati — may have contributed to the crash as the driver could have been at the wheel for several hours. The deceased have been identified as Navaneeth Gaikwad, 34, Pawar Vishwanath Digambar, 34, Kiran, 36, and Vishal, 46. Somanath Kolhe, 53, is the injured victim.KGF superintendent of police Shivanshu Rajput, who visited the spot, appealed to motorists to maintain safe speeds and take regular breaks during long journeys.The accident comes two weeks after four persons from Mysuru were killed on the same expressway. Police had attributed the accident to driver fatigue, as the victims had left Tirupati around 3am after visiting the temple.Police have taken measures to curb speeding, including installing signboards specifying speed limits of 120 kmph for cars and 100 kmph for heavy transport vehicles. The police introduced radar guns to detect and penalise motorists for overspeeding. Despite these measures, motorists continue to violate speed limits, contributing to crashes on the expressway, a police officer in KGF police district said.
