Speeding coal tipper kills mother and son in Kothagudem; second tipper accident in two days

A woman and her son were killed when a speeding coal tipper collided with their car on the Kothagudem-Vijayawada highway. Other passengers were injured, and coal tippers remain a serious threat to commuters’ safety

Kothagudem: A woman and her son were killed when a speeding coal tipper collided with the car in which they were traveling on the Kothagudem-Vijayawada highway in the district on Wednesday.

According to the police, six members of a family from Chirutapudi in Konaseema district, Andhra Pradesh, had gone to Kaleshwaram to participate in the river Saraswati Pushkarams on May 19. They reached Bhadrachalam on Tuesday night to visit the Bhadradri Temple.

On Wednesday morning, they left for Tiruvur in Andhra Pradesh to visit relatives before proceeding to their village. When they reached the Sandrukunta crossroads near Penagadapa, a coal tipper coming from Sathupalli toward the Rudrampur coal handling plant in Kothagudem collided with their car.

The woman, Mamidishetty Kanakadurga (54), was killed on the spot, while her son Venkata Ratnam (36) died on the way to the hospital.

Venkata Ratnam, who was driving the vehicle, was trapped in the mangled car, and drivers passing by had to work for nearly an hour to free him. Other passengers in the car—Venkatapathy, Jyothi Swaroopa, and Chetan Sirish—suffered minor injuries, while a girl named Deekshita sustained a serious head injury and was transferred to Khammam for treatment.

Coal tippers have become a serious threat to commuters’ lives on the Kothagudem-Vijayawada road, with many drivers frequently driving recklessly. On Tuesday, an elderly man, Shaik Moulana from Yerragunta, was crushed to death when he was on his way to the masjid to perform namaz.