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NT Bureau
Chennai, July 24:

JUMPING JALOPY: The smashed vehicle that jumped the tracks and rammed into an oncoming bus near Madurantakam today. Photo: K Vijay Anand

        Four people died in their Tata Sumo on Tuesday when it swerved, jumped the median and hit a State-run bus near Madurantakam to the south of Chennai.

        The victims were returning to Kallakurichi, near Salem in a Tata Sumo after receiving a relative who landed at Chennai airport from Dubai.

        The visitor from Dubai was among the dead, but his mother was the lone survivor in the crash.

        According to police, Subramani (35) of Kallakurichi who was working as an Engineer in Dubai returned to Chennai this morning.

        His friends Senthil (27), Pargunam (18) and driver Syed Basha along with Subramani's mother Indirani (55) went to receive him at the airport.

        On arrival, Subramani along with his friends and his mother travelled to his hometown Kallakurichi. When the Sumo was on its way towards Erikarai road, the driver lost control of the vehicle and dashed on the barricade and later hit a government bus coming from the opposite direction.

        Subramani, his friends Senthil and Pargunam, driver Syed Basha died on the spot while his mother Indrani who was seriously injured was taken to a nearby government Chengalpet hospital.

        It is not clear what made the driver of Sumo to swerve so badly that he jumped the wide median and end up on the track for oncoming vehicles. The possibility of the driver falling asleep and losing control of his vehicle cannot be ruled out, police sources said.

        Madurantakam police recovered the bodies and sent them for post mortem. Traffic was disrupted on the highway for nearly three hours.

        A traffic jam in the area halted or delayed vehicles headed for Chennai.

        The driver of the bus involved in the crash Vijayashankar said 'the bus was carrying 36 passengers from Coimbatore. As the bus reached Madurantakam bridge by dawn, a speeding Tata Sumo from the opposite side hit the barricade and moved towards the bus.'

        'However my efforts to prevent the collision went futile as the Tata Sumo hit the front portion of the bus and crashed towards the barricade again.

        While other passengers were safe, one of them suffered minor injuries'.

        Police are investigating the accident.