
The damaged sand-laden lorry which crashed into the parapet wall of the Children’s Park on the Beach Road in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak
A major tragedy was averted as a sand-laden lorry crashed into the boundary wall of the Children’s Park, near Hotel Novotel Junction, on the Beach Road, reportedlly due to brake failure on Tuesday. This is not the first time that a heavy vehicle came crashing into boundary wall of the Beach Road. There were several instances in the past, but no preventive measures were taken so far.
During May 2017, an elderly man died and four people including a police officer received injuries after a private school bus came crashing on them after the driver lost control of the vehicle on the Beach Road.
On Tuesday’s accident, fortunately not many people were present on the road. Several morning walkers, couple of motorists had a narrow escape as the accident occurred within seconds after they moved away from the Junction. They expressed shock over the incident. A person who was near the park received minor injuries.
According to the traffic police from M.R. Peta, the incident occurred at around 6.45 a.m. The lorry which came from Srikakulam was heading to the fishing harbour, via Maddilapalem, Rama Talkies and Pandi Metta Junction. During the incident, the driver and cleaner were present in the lorry. The driver reportedly informed the police that he had lost control over the vehicle due to brake failure. The driver also reportedly informed that he was unaware of the steep slope of the road.
However, the police are yet to ascertain whether he was drunk, sleepy or whether there was any other reason behind the incident.
A senior traffic police officer said that heavy vehicles have to move inside the city roads only between 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. Generally heavy vehicles do not use Pandi Metta Junction to Novotel route due to the steep slope, he said. Earlier the police in coordination with the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), proposed to set up railings to ensure heavy vehicles do not use the Pandi Metta Junction to Novotel route, but it has not materialised, he said.
Speaking about the incident, Police Commissioner Shankhabrata Bagchi said that the police will focus on the black spot and ensure such incidents do not recur. He said that DCP, ACP East and ACP Traffic would inspect the area and take steps to ensure heavy vehicles do not move on the route.
Published – February 18, 2025 08:35 pm IST