Lucknow, February 12 At least five people were killed and 44 others injured in separate road accidents reported from different parts of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Thursday.
In Lucknow, an 82-year-old cyclist, Ram Chandra Lodhi, a resident of Saraiya in the BKT area, was killed after an unidentified truck hit him on Sitapur Road in the Sarojini Nagar area, officials said.
The accident occurred around 2:10 pm near Chhatha Mill, they added.
Police sent the body for postmortem and are scanning CCTV footage to identify the vehicle. The driver fled the spot after the accident, they said.
In Amethi district, a 50-year-old woman died, and her husband sustained serious injuries after a speeding truck rammed their motorcycle at Hanuman Tiraha on the Raebareli-Sultanpur highway in the Gauriganj area.
The deceased was identified as Poonam Singh of Arjunpur village. Her husband, Chhatrapal Singh, was admitted to the district hospital. Police seized the truck, while the driver escaped.
In Firozabad, a Punjab-based road contractor was killed and three others were seriously injured after their car hit a divider on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway near Matsena area around 5:30 am, officials said.
The deceased was identified as Harpal Singh of Punjab's Barnala district.
The injured, Hardeep Sharma, Lakhwinder Singh and another unidentified person, are undergoing treatment at a medical college.
Police suspect the driver may have dozed off.
In Kannauj district, 40 passengers were injured after a double-decker bus travelling from Delhi to Bihar hit a divider and overturned on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway in Saurikh area, police said.
The bus was carrying around 70 passengers against the seating capacity of 56.
The preliminary investigation suggested that the driver may have fallen asleep, police said, adding that he, along with the conductor, fled the scene.
The injured were admitted to nearby hospitals and medical colleges, and those with minor injuries were discharged after first aid.
In Deoria, a 35-year-old man, Hasmuddin Ansari, died after a speeding truck ran him over on the Deoria-Gorakhpur road near Devgaon late Wednesday night.
The incident occurred when Ansari, a factory worker, was returning home on his motorcycle, police said, adding that the truck driver fled with the vehicle.
Police in all cases said further legal proceedings are underway and efforts are on to trace the absconding drivers.
