A speeding garbage truck mowed down a 75-year-old petrol pump owner near Samrala Chowk on Monday morning.
The tragic incident took place while the victim, Joginder Singh, 75, who runs a petrol pump in Ram Nagar was heading towards Guru Arjan Dev Nagar on his scooter. Eyewitnesses say the unidentified driver of the garbage truck entered a no-entry area and took a sharp turn crushing the elderly businessman to death.
The accused driver tried to drive away after the mishap, but passersby intercepted him and reportedly found him to be inebriated. Angered by the driver’s recklessness, the crowd that gathered on the spot broke the trucks windowpanes.However, the driver managed to escape in the melee. After the mishap, a major traffic jam was witnessed on the Ludhiana-Chandigarh Road.
Cops from Division 7, who arrived at the spot to probe the mishap, managed to remove the vehicles and restore the flow of traffic. However, motorists groused that it took the cops at least half-an-hour to reach the spot.
Calling garbage trucks a menace on the roads, Paramjit Singh, a local trader, said, “Garbage trucks frequently enter the no-entry area during day time , but traffic cops never penalise them. Besides, the drivers speed and never cover the flap of the truck, causing trash to fly off the bed of the truck and litter the roads.”
Sub-inspector Bhajan Singh, who is the Division 7 station house officer, said they have sought the driver’s details from the municipal corporation and have registered a case under Sections 279 (rash driving), 304A (death by negligence) and 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of ₹50) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Earlier, a labourer had been crushed to death on Tajpur Road by a speeding garbage truck of the A to Z Company, which was looking after solid waste management in the city in 2021.
Similar cases
September 9: Hours before her son’s wedding rituals, a Moga woman, her mother-in-law and her son’s friend were killed after they car flew off the Ladhowal flyover.
September 6: 5 persons, including three toddlers were killed after the car they were travelling in overturned on the Ludhiana-Chandigarh highway, after hitting the footpath, a compound wall and an electricity pole near Veer Palace.
Déjà vu
May 15, 2021: A labourer was crushed to death by a speeding garbage truck of the A to Z Company on Tajpur Road.
Speeding, carelessness top causes of death in city
The city ranked fifth in the country in fatal road mishaps in 2021, as per data released by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB). While the city’s fatality rate was 77.2%, speeding and reckless driving were responsible for 72.38% of the mishaps. Of the 380 road fatalities reported in 2021, 100 victims were riding two-wheelers, which is 26.31% of the total deaths.