Odapada: Four persons including three members of a family were killed after a speeding truck collided with their vehicle on National Highway-55 near Nadhara under Motanga police limits in Dhenkanal district Monday.
The deceased were identified as Pabitra Mohan Pradhan, a native of Landijhari village in Deogarh district and an ASI of Burla police station, his wife Prema Manjari Pradhan, son Paresh Pradhan and the driver of their vehicle, a Mahindra Bolero, who is yet to be identified.
While two of them died on the spot, two others succumbed at the district headquarters hospital.
Police said the family was returning to Burla after Pabitra, who was suffering from cancer, underwent chemotherapy at Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre (AHRCC) in Cuttack.
The mishap occurred at 12.40 pm when a truck coming at great speed from the opposite direction collided with their vehicle near Nadhara. The collision was so intense that both the vehicles overturned to the roadside farmland.
Locals and police rushed to the spot and rescued three of the injured alive from the mangled remains of the Bolero. However, two of them were pronounced dead by doctors at the district headquarters hospital. Police registered a case and sent the bodies for post-mortem before seizing the two vehicles.
Pabitra’s nephew Kirti Bhushan Mohapatra accompanying the family sustained critical injuries and was admitted to hospital.
Sources said Pabitra was battling for recovery from cancer for a long time and was visiting AHRCC often for treatment while simultaneously discharging his duty in Burla police station. PNN
