12-year-old boy dies after auto carrying 13 students overturns

Chennai: A 12-year-old boy died and 12 others were injured when an autorickshaw overturned near Uthiramerur in Kanchipuram on Friday evening. Police said the vehicle was carrying 13 students from the school at the time of the accident. The auto driver, Balaji (23), was arrested later in the day.

Deceased Rohit, a resident of Vadathvur village, was studying in class 7 in a private matriculation school in Malliyankarana. “The speeding autorickshaw overturned near Kadal Mangalam Ericarai area and Rohit suffered serious head injuries. He died on the spot. Local people took 12 injured students to Uthiramerur Government Hospital in an ambulance. Seven of them, who suffered moderate to serious injuries, were later referred to Chengalpattu Government Hospital,” the police said.

Sources said it is common for residents of Vadathvur village to hire autos to send their children to school due to lack of bus connectivity. The private school where Rohit studied was a popular private school in the area, where students from more than two dozen villages studied and the residents had been demanding adequate bus services for a long time.