Sasaram: Five people died and 10 others were seriously injured after a speeding truck rammed into a bus and a pickup vehicle on NH-319 near Belwaiya Mathia turn under Dinara police station area in Rohtas district Monday morning, police said. The driver of the truck escaped after the accident, they added.On the instruction of the CM Samrat Choudhary, the local administration handed over a cheque of Rs4 lakh each to the next kin of the deceased.The accident occurred at around 3.30am when the victims, all residents of Mathia and nearby villages, were returning home after attending the ‘tilak’ ceremony of Ashok Kumar Singh’s daughter in Lodi village under Chenari police station area.The deceased have been identified as Ashok Kumar Singh (45), Pintu Kumar (35), and Rameshwar Singh (38), all residents of Mathia; Chhotu Kumar (20), a resident of Mishrwaliya under Natwar police station area; and Ram Barat Singh (44), a resident of Bhagwanpur in Kaimur district.According to Dinara SHO Dharmendra Prasad, the group had stopped near a village turn, with some passengers getting off the bus while others were unloading items from the pickup vehicle. In the meantime, a speeding truck ploughed into both vehicles, causing the accident.The injured were rushed to the primary health centre in Dinara and later referred to Sadar Hospital Sasaram after their condition was found serious.Police have seized the truck, while its driver managed to flee. The bodies were sent for the postmortem to the sadar hospital.Senior police officials, including the SDPO of Bikramganj and SHOs from several adjoining police stations, are camping at the accident site and supervising the investigation.
