A pilgrimage turned tragic on Monday afternoon when an SUV carrying devotees from Unnao crashed into a pedestrian divider on Kisan Path in Lucknow’s Sushant Golf City area, leaving three people dead, including a three-year-old girl, and 10 others injured.
The accident took place on a railway bridge over the Lucknow -Sultanpur rail route along the Outer Ring Road. The group was heading to the Ausaneshwar Mahadev temple in Barabanki for jalabhishek after collecting Ganga water from Gangaghat in Unnao. The impact mangled the vehicle and left several occupants seriously injured. Santosh and Ramdulari were declared dead at the Community Health Centre in Gosainganj, while Nancy succumbed to her injuries during treatment at SGPGI. Rescue teams and police personnel rushed to the spot and shifted the injured to nearby hospitals.
The deceased were identified as Santosh alias Santu, a resident of Madhavkheda in Unnao’s Ajgain area; Ramdulari, a resident of Devipur Khadwaria in Soharamau; and Nancy (3), Santosh’s daughter.
Police said the SUV went out of control near the bridge and slammed into the divider. DCP (South) Mohammad Mushtaq, told HT that preliminary findings suggest that the driver was either drunk or he dozed off and crashed the vehicle.
