Karur, June 9:

Three persons, including an eight-month pregnant woman and her husband, were killed and two others, among them a two-year-old girl, were seriously injured in a tragic road accident on the Karur–Dindigul National Highway near Aravakurichi in Karur district on Tuesday morning.

The deceased were identified as V. Aravind (30), his wife A. Janani (28), who was eight months pregnant, and the car driver, P. Veera (40). Aravind and Janani were natives of Karuthi Veeranpatti near Usilampatti in Madurai district, while Veera belonged to Nethaji Nagar in Usilampatti.

According to police, the family was returning to Madurai from Bengaluru when the accident occurred around 6 a.m. near the Esanatham Cross Cut Road junction. Their two-year-old daughter, A. Vaveera, was also travelling in the car.

Preliminary investigations revealed that a motorcycle ridden by P. Pandithurai (32) of Aravakurichi was moving ahead of the car when he allegedly attempted a sudden right turn across the highway. In an effort to avoid hitting the motorcycle, the driver reportedly swerved sharply to the left.

The manoeuvre caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle, which crashed into a stationary van parked on the roadside. The impact was severe, leaving the front portion of the car completely mangled.

Aravind, Janani and Veera sustained fatal injuries and died on the spot. The couple’s daughter and the motorcyclist suffered serious injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital, where they are undergoing treatment.

A team from the Aravakurichi police station reached the spot and carried out rescue operations. The bodies were later recovered and sent for postmortem examination.

The accident briefly disrupted traffic on the busy national highway before normal movement was restored. Police have registered a case and launched a detailed investigation to determine the exact circumstances that led to the fatal crash.