Major catastrophe averted in Prakasam district

Ongole: A road mishap was averted in Prakasam district on Monday by just few minutes and few hundred meters of distance. The greed of lorry owners and drivers encouraging continuous shifts of duty might have resulted in another Yerpedu incident near Bestavaripet.According to the Bestavaripet police, Pathan Mohammed and Shaik Mohammed Habib are natives of Rayachoti town in Kadapa district and working as driver and cleaner for a transport lorry, bearing registration number AP04TX6678.

They started from Bangalore in the lorry, reached Pillalamarri in Kurnool district and transported iron ore from Pillalamarri to Kadapa by Sunday night. Without taking any rest, they started journey from Kadapa to Jaggayyapet on another transportation work.On Monday early morning, when the lorry reached Mokshagundam near Bestavaripet, the sleepy driver Pathan Mohammed lost control of the vehicle and hit a tree on the road side.

The driver and cleaner both were severely injured and shifted to Giddalur hospital for treatment.The cleaner Shaik Mohammed Habib said that the accident occurred just in a fraction of second, as the driver closed eyes due to tiredness. The police said that a number of people might have been killed, if the lorry had gone out of control before or after a few hundred metres, where there are villages. They said that a case of negligent driving was registered on the driver and are investigating the case.