A family returning home for the Nuakhai festival was struck by a speeding coal-laden truck, and hitting the motorcycle from behind on State Highway 10, killing a woman and her five-year-old son on the spot.
The accident occurred near Khinda CTR chhak under Thelkoloi police station in Sambalpur district. Jyoti Ganda, 21, wife of Bharat Dhurua of Sukhadhar village in Jharsuguda’s Lakhanpur police station area, and their son died on the spot. Bharat, who was riding the bike (OD-23-A-7232), suffered serious injuries and was admitted to hospital.
According to police, the family was travelling towards their village on the Biju Expressway when truck OR-04-M-1427 rammed them from the rear. The impact threw the woman and child under the truck’s wheels. The driver abandoned the vehicle and fled.
The incident triggered anger among local residents, who blocked the Jharsuguda–Sambalpur stretch of SH-10, demanding the driver’s arrest and compensation for the family.
Police seized the truck and launched an investigation. The exact cause and the driver’s identity are being ascertained.
