Bhubaneswar: Five people were killed and eight others injured after a speeding truck travelling in the wrong direction rammed into three motorcycles in Odisha’s Ganjam district on Saturday afternoon, police said, adding that the driver fled the scene but was later arrested.
The accident occurred on the Gosain Nuagaon overbridge. The truck hit three motorcycles heading towards Haladiapadar.
The injured were taken to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur.
Preliminary investigation indicated that the truck was being driven on the wrong side, Inspector General of Police (Southern Range) Niti Shekhar said.
“The driver had fled after the accident. We have arrested him. A medical examination of the driver will be conducted soon,” he added.
Fire service personnel and police teams reached the spot soon after receiving information and cleared the damaged vehicles to restore traffic movement on the overbridge.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed grief over the loss of lives and announced an ex gratia of ₹4 lakh each for the families of the deceased from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
The accident comes amid persistent concerns over road safety in the state. According to accident data for 2024 released by the Commerce and Transport department, overspeeding led to 7,269 road accidents and 3,846 deaths, while wrong-side driving claimed 470 lives in 1,103 accidents. Drunken driving and drug consumption caused 317 deaths in 838 accidents, mobile phone use while driving resulted in 235 deaths in 585 accidents, and jumping red lights led to 35 deaths in 88 accidents.
The data show that 55% of all accidents and 56% of fatalities in 2024 occurred on national and state highways. Two-wheelers were involved in the highest number of crashes — 5,490 accidents resulting in 3,017 deaths — followed by cars, taxis and LMVs (1,796 accidents and 739 deaths), and trucks and lorries (1,296 accidents and 607 fatalities).
Over the last decade, more than 47,000 people have died and over one lakh have been seriously injured in road accidents in Odisha. On average, 16 people lose their lives every day on the state’s roads, placing Odisha among the states with the highest accident severity rates.
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