Lorry crushes boy in Bangalore as dad, brother watch

A 10-year-old boy was killed when a lorry rammed into the two-wheeler he was riding with his father and brother at Vidyanagara Cross on Uttanahalli Main Road on Tuesday.

Identifying the boy as Hemanth, police said his father and brother escaped with minor injuries.

The accident happened when the father, Muddukrishna Reddy, and his children were riding to SV Central School, where the boys were studying. Hemanth was a third standard student, while his brother Suhas, 7, was a year junior in school. The boys were riding pillion with Reddy when the lorry rear-ended the scooter.

The police said, quoting witnesses, that the lorry driver ignored passersby warning to stop. He failed to notice that the boy had fallen on the road, and took the heavy vehicle forward. Hemanth was caught under its wheel.

Hemanth died while being rushed to the Asia Columbia Hospital in Hebbal.

“The accident could have been avoided if the lorry driver had applied brakes in time. We shouted at him, but he did not stop as he failed to notice the boy, who had fallen on the left side of the scooter. The driver was watching the father and his brother, who were on the other side of the scooter,” witness K Govindappa said.

Police said they had arrested the lorry driver, Basook Chatri, 42, a native of West Bengal.

The father, Reddy, hailed from Chintamani taluk in Chikkaballapur district and has been running a restaurant, along with his wife Shylaja, at Vidyanagar Cross.

“Many of us know him as the hotelier who supplies the best biriyani in the area,” said H Srinivas, a Vidyanagar resident.