Man sleeps at the wheel; wife, daughter killed

TNN

Mangalore, 19 October 2010: A mother and daughter were killed, and father and son injured when a goods autorickshaw, driven by the father, fell into a 20-metre deep roadside ditch at Kallapu along National Highway 17 near here under Ullal police station limits on Monday.

 

Police said the deceased are Zeenath (33) and her daughter Shamnaz (5), and the injured are Mohammad Sharief and his son Khader Saddique (3).

 

Police said the family hailing from Adyar-Kannur had gone to Manjeshwar on Sunday and halted at Ullal Darga overnight. The family was travelling to Adyar-Kannur when tragedy struck. Police said Mohammad Sharief might have dozed off while driving. The vehicle careened off the road and went hurtling down the slope into the ditch below.

 

While the mother and daughter died on the spot, Sharief survived with minor injuries. His son has been admitted to a private hospital in the city with a fractured left leg. Police have registered a case of fatal accident and are investigating.