Kanpur (UP), February 21 Two teenage boys were killed here when a ready-mix concrete truck hit their scooter and ran over them, apparently in an attempt by the driver to escape, police said.
The incident took place on the Ganga Barrage Road under the Kohna police station limits on Friday night.
The victims were identified as Arsh (15) and Mohammad Ahmad (16).
The truck driver fled the scene with the vehicle and is at large, they said.
According to police, family members said that the boys had stepped out after iftar (the evening meal during Ramadan) to offer tarawih (night) prayers and were returning home when the accident occurred near the Ganga Barrage.
The truck hit their scooter, and in what appeared to be an attempt to escape, it ran over the teenagers, killing them instantly, they said.
Armaan, a friend of the deceased who was following them on a separate scooter, witnessed the accident and alerted their families.
Arsh, the only child of wholesale footwear trader Farhat Izhar, was in Class 7.
Ahmad, son of readymade garment businessman Iqbal Ahmad, was pursuing religious studies and was the second of three siblings.
Local residents gathered at the scene soon after the incident and informed the police.
Personnel from the Kohna station rushed to the scene and transported the victims to Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital, but doctors pronounced them dead.
Samajwadi Party MLA Naseem Solanki also reached the scene and offered support to the bereaved families.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Archana Singh said that the bodies have been sent for post-mortem.
Police have launched a search operation to trace the absconding driver, Singh said.