Car mows down 3 women, driver held

THOOTHUKUDI: Three women were killed and another was injured after being hit by a car as they were fetching water from roadside taps at Mukkani village in Thoothukudi district early on Sunday.

Sources said the women were fetching water from two taps on the Thoothukudi-Tiruchendur road at Mukkani around 6.30 am when a speeding car hit them. Nattar Santhi (50) died on the spot while Amaravathi (58) and Parvathi (35) died on the way to hospital. The injured woman, Sanmugathai (55), was admitted to Thoothukudi Government Medical College Hospital.

Authoor police arrested the car driver, Manikandan (27), from Perungulam. The accused and his friends were returning from Bengaluru when the accident occurred.

Chief Minister MK Stalin condoled the death of the women and announced a compensation of 3 lakh to the kin of each deceased and1 lakh for the injured from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund.